KIM JONG IL
ON THE JUCHE IDEA
WORKING PEOPLE OF THE WHOLE WORLD, UNITE!
KIM JONG IL
ON THE JUCHE IDEA
Treatise Sent to the National Seminar
on the Juehe Idea Held to Mark the 70* Birthday
of the Great Leader Comrade Kim II Sung
March 31, 1982
CONTENTS
1 . THE ORIGIN OF THE JUCHE IDEA . 2
2. THE PHILOSOPHICAL PRINCIPLE
OF THE JUCHE IDEA . 8
3. THE SOCIO-HISTORICAL PRINCIPLES
OF THE JUCHE IDEA . 13
1) The Masses of the People Are the Subject
of Social History . 14
2) Human History Is the History of the People’s Struggle
for Independence . 18
3) The Socio-Historical Movement Is a Creative Movement
of the Popular Masses . 25
4) The People’s Consciousness of Independence Plays
the Decisive Role in Revolutionary Struggle . 29
4. THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF THE JUCHE IDEA . 34
1) THE INDEPENDENT STAND MUST
BE MAINTAINED . 35
(1) Juche in Ideology . 35
(2) Independence in Politics . 40
(3) Self-Sufficiency in the Economy . 43
(4) Self-Reliance in Defence . 49
2) THE CREATIVE METHOD SHOULD BE APPLIED . 53
(1) The Method of Depending on the Popular Masses . 53
(2) Methods Suitable to the Actual Situation . 57
3) THE MAIN STRESS SHOULD BE PLACED
ON IDEOLOGY . 60
(1) Giving Priority to Ideological Remoulding . 60
(2) Giving Precedence to Political Work . 66
5. THE HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE
OF THE JUCHE IDEA . 70
We will soon welcome the 70* birthday of the leader.
It is very significant that to mark his 70* anniversary, we
are holding a National Seminar on the Juche Idea.
This seminar has assessed with pride the ideological and
theoretical achievements made by the leader in leading our
revolution and construction for more than half a century, and
has powerfully demonstrated again the greatness and
correctness of the Juche idea.
The Juche idea is the precious fruit of the leader’s profound,
widespread ideological and theoretical activities, and its
creation is the most brilliant of his revolutionary achievements.
By creating the great Juche idea, the leader opened up a new
road leading to victory in the revolution before the working
class and the masses of the people, and brought about a historic
turn in the fulfilment of the revolutionary cause of the people.
The history of the Korean revolution pioneered and led by
the leader is a glorious history which records the splendid
application and overall victory of the great Juche idea.
The Juche idea represents an invariable guiding idea of the
Korean revolution and a great revolutionary banner of our time.
At present, we are confronted with the honourable task of
modelling the whole society on the Juche idea.
The objective of this historic cause is to complete our
revolution which has developed and triumphed under the
banner of the Juche idea.
In order to realize this cause, all Party members and
working people should clearly understand the truth of the Juche
idea, and think and act strictly in accordance with its
requirements.
Only when one is firmly armed with the Juche idea and
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advances under its banner, would it be possible to emerge
victorious in the revolution and construction, surmounting all
difficulties and trials. This is the conviction which our people
have acquired through the history of revolutionary struggle
spanning over half a century.
Availing myself of the opportunity provided by this meeting
of social scientists and theoretical propagandists from all over
the country who gathered here to debate on the Juche idea and
its great victory on the eve of the 70* anniversary of the
leader’s birthday, I would like to refer to the questions related
to the principles of the Juche idea.
1, THE ORIGIN OF THE JUCHE IDEA
A progressive idea plays an important role in socio-
historical progress.
When the popular masses are guided by a progressive idea,
they can be a powerful creator of history. Of course, it does not
mean that all progressive ideas play the same role in socio-
historical development. Their role is different according to how
they represent the aspirations and interests of the popular
masses and how correctly they show the path which must be
followed in struggle. There were ideas which reflected the
aspirations of progressive classes of society even before the
emergence of the working class. But due to their historical and
class limitations the trends of thought in the past age could not
but be hampered in the role they played in social development.
The revolutionary ideas of the working class alone can
correctly reflect the demands of the time and the aspirations of
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the popular masses and give a powerful stimulus to socio-
historieal development by inspiring the people to wage the
revolutionary struggle.
The revolutionary ideas of the working class are originated
by distinguished leaders.
It can be said that the history of the communist movement
spanning a hundred and scores of years is a history of working-
class leaders creating and developing revolutionary ideas, a
history in which these ideas have been applied to transform the
world. In the mid- 19* century Marx and Engels propounded
Marxism. Thus they highlighted the historical mission and a
path of liberation that had to be followed by the working class
that appeared on the arena of struggle and stimulated the fight
against capital, ushering in the rise of the international
communist movement. Lenin developed Marxism and
advanced Leninism in accordance with the new historical
conditions whereby capitalism had entered the phase of
imperialism, with the result that he inspired the working class
and the rest of the people to the struggle to destroy imperialist
strongholds and to achieve freedom and liberation. This marked
the beginning of transition from capitalism to socialism.
Our leader created the great Juche idea after acquiring a
deep insight into the requirements of a new era when the
oppressed and humiliated masses of the people became masters
of their own destiny. Thus he developed their struggle for
independence onto a higher plane and opened up the age of
Juche, a new era in the development of human history.
The revolutionary idea of the working class emerges as the
reflection of the mature demand of history and the revolution in
their development.
When the leader embarked on the road of revolution, a new
development was taking place in the struggle of the working
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class and the popular masses against exploitation and
oppression. On the world arena, the influence of socialism,
which had won its first victory, grew strong, and the
revolutionary struggle of the working class and the liberation
struggle of the peoples in colonies and semi-colonies were
intensified sharply. In an attempt to stop the revolutionary
advance of the masses and weather the serious political and
economic crises they were passing through, the imperialists
further increased their plunder and oppression of the people. In
many countries contradictions and antagonism between
revolution and counterrevolution were intensified, and the
masses of the people whose sovereign rights had been trampled
down for a long time rose up in a struggle for their class and
national liberation. A new age was approaching, in which the
revolutionary movement made progress in a broad and
diversified way on a worldwide scale.
In order to advance the revolution under the new historical
conditions, the working class and the people of every country,
conscious of being the masters, had to solve all problems in
accordance with their actual situation. In our country, this was a
particularly important matter because of the peculiarities of
historical development and the complexity and arduousness of
the revolution. The Korean revolution demanded more urgently
that the popular masses hew out the path of revolution in an
independent and creative manner.
The Juche idea was created on the basis of such a practical
requirement of the Korean revolution.
The revolution is a struggle to meet the masses’ desire for
independence by enlisting their strength. It is a struggle of the
masses to free themselves. When they are armed with the
revolutionary idea and united into an organized political force,
the masses can emerge victorious in the revolution. The duty of
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revolutionaries is to go among the popular masses, masters of
the revolution, to educate, organize, and inspire them to a
struggle. The revolutionary forces, too, should be trained from
among the masses, and all problems arising in the revolutionary
struggle should likewise be resolved in reliance on their
wisdom and strength.
However, the communists and nationalists who were
allegedly engaged in the national-liberation movement in our
country in the 1920s gave no thought to the need to go among
the masses to educate, organize, and arouse them into waging a
revolutionary struggle. But divorced from the masses they were
only engrossed in the scramble for hegemony and empty talks.
They did not unite the masses but divided them by factional
strife.
In the first years of his revolutionary struggle, the leader saw
through their mistakes and took a road different from theirs, the
genuinely revolutionary road which led him to be among the
masses and to rely on them in the struggle. He elucidated the
trath that the masters of the revolution are the masses of the
people and that when one goes among them to educate and
mobilize them one will be able to register victory in the
revolution. This is one of the starting points of the Juche idea.
The revolution in each country should be carried out
responsibly by its own people, the masters, in an independent
manner, and in a creative way suitable to its specific conditions.
Independence and creativeness are the inherent requirements of
a revolutionary movement, the communist movement.
The Korean revolution which opened the age of Juche could
not advance even a step forward unless it was conducted in an
independent and creative way from the start. It was a difficult
and complex revolution which had to deal with the tasks of the
anti-imperialist, national-liberation revolution, with formidable
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Japanese imperialism as the target, and those of the anti-feudal,
demoeratie revolution simultaneously. It was an arduous
revolution whieh had to hew out an untrodden path.
What is worse, a strong tendeney towards flunkeyism
appeared in those days within our anti- Japanese national-
liberation movement and eommunist movement to hamper the
advanee of the revolution. The nationalists and self-styled
Marxists followed the evil praetiees of flunkeyism and faetional
strife whieh had resulted in the eountry’s ruin in the past. They
did not try to earry out the revolution by their own initiative but
dreamed of aehieving independenee by depending on foreign
forees. At that time, those who were allegedly engaged in the
eommunist movement formed their own party groups and
ealled frequently at the Comintern to gain their reeognition.
And they endeavoured to imitate meehanieally established
theories and experienee of others, without taking into
eonsideration the historieal eonditions and speeifie realities in
our eountry where a eolonial and semi-feudal soeiety was in
existenee. In this way, flunkeyism and dogmatism were very
serious obstaeles in the way of revolution.
Drawing on serious lessons derived from sueh flunkeyism
and dogmatism, the leader elarified the truth that a revolution
should be earried out not by anyone’s approval or instruetion
but by one’s own eonvietion and on one’s own responsibility
and that all problems arising in the revolution should be solved
in an independent and ereative way. This is another starting
point of the Juehe idea.
As stated previously, the leader advaneed the Juehe idea, a
new revolutionary idea, on the basis of praetieal experienee and
lessons gained in the revolutionary struggle.
The leader has eondueted ideologieal and theoretieal aetivities
invariably based on the revolutionary praetiee, and developed and
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enriched the revolutionary idea and theories in the course of giving
answers to problems arising in the revolutionary practice. Only on
the basis of revolutionary practice can one apply existing theories
in accordance with the interests of the revolution and actual
conditions in one’s own country and search for new tmths and
create new ideas and theories.
In his early years of revolutionary activities, the leader was
well versed in Marxism-Leninism. But he did not confine himself
to applying Marxism-Leninism to the Korean revolution but
pioneered a new phase of revolutionary theory from a steadfast
Juche -based standpoint and resolved the problems arising in the
revolutionary practice from a unique angle.
The leader discovered the truth of the Juche idea in the
course of the struggle against bigoted nationalists and bogus
Marxists, flunkeyists and dogmatists, while hewing out a new
path for the revolution. Finally, he explained the principles of
the Juche idea at the Meeting of Leading Personnel of the
Young Communist League and the Anti-Imperialist Youth
League held at Kalun in June 1930 and put forward a Juche-
oriented line for the Korean revolution. This was a historical
event which heralded the creation of the Juche idea and the
birth of the Juche-oriented revolutionary line.
At the time of disorder when national reformism, “Left” and
Right opportunism and all other unsound ideas were prevailing,
the leader still in his teens gained an insight into the trend of the
times, the desire of the people and the law of historical
development, expounded the truth of Juche and thus opened the
road of independent development for our revolution.
The Juche idea has been perfected as the guiding idea of
revolution in our age in the practice of the Korean revolution.
The guiding idea of revolution cannot be made perfect by
one effort at a moment. It emerges through the generalization of
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experience in the revolutionary struggle, on the basis of the
conditions of the times and history; it becomes perfect as an
integrated ideological and theoretical system when its
truthfulness is verified and its content is enriched during the
protracted struggle.
The leader led to victory the revolutionary struggles at
different stages and the work in all fields of politics, the
economy, culture and military affairs. In this course, he himself
gained a wealth of precious experience and generalized it to
steadily develop the Juche idea in a profound manner. The
history of the leader who has led the arduous Korean revolution
for more than 50 years, is a history in which he created the
Juche idea and perfected it as a unique ideological and
theoretical system in the great revolutionary practice.
As stated previously, the Juche idea emerged on the basis of
the requirements of a new age when the masses of the people
appeared as the masters of history and of a rich experience
gained in the revolutionary struggle. So it has become the great
guiding idea of revolution in our age.
2, THE PHILOSOPHICAL PRINCIPLE
OF THE JUCHE IDEA
The Juche idea is a new philosophical thought which
centres on man.
As the leader said, the Juche idea is based on the
philosophical principle that man is the master of everything and
decides everything. The Juche idea raised the fundamental
question of philosophy by regarding man as the main factor.
and elucidated the philosophical principle that man is the
master of everything and decides everything.
That man is the master of everything means that he is the
master of the world and of his own destiny; that man decides
everything means that he plays the decisive role in transforming
the world and in shaping his destiny.
The philosophical principle of the Juche idea is the principle
of man-centred philosophy which explains man’s position and
role in the world.
The leader made it clear that man is a social being with
independence, creativity and consciousness.
Man, though material existence, is not a simple material being.
He is the most developed material being, a special product of the
evolution of the material world. Man was already outstanding as he
emerged from the world of nature. He exists and develops by
cognizing and changing the world to make it serve him, whereas
all other material lives maintain their existence through their
subordination and adaptation to the objective world.
Man holds a special position and plays a special role as
master of the world because he is a social being with
independence, creativity and consciousness.
The leader gave a new philosophical conception of man by
defining independence, creativity and consciousness as the
essential features of man, the social being.
Independence, creativity and consciousness are man’s social
qualities which take shape and develop socially and historically.
Man alone in the world lives and conducts activity in social
relationship. He maintains his existence and achieves his aim only
socially. Independence, creativity and consciousness are peculiar
to man, the social being.
Man is a being with independence, that is, an independent
social being.
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Independence is an attribute of social man who is desirous
of living and developing in an independent way as master of the
world and his own destiny. On the strength of this quality, man
throws off the fetters of nature, opposes social subjugation of
all forms and puts everything at his own service.
Independence is the life and soul of man, the social being.
When independence is referred to as man’s life and soul, it
means social and political integrity. Man has a physical life and
also social and political integrity. The physical life is what
keeps a man alive as biological organism; social and political
integrity is what keeps him alive as social being.
Man is a being with creativity, that is, a creative social
being.
Creativity is an attribute of social man who transforms the
world and shapes his destiny purposefully and consciously. By
virtue of his creativity, man transforms nature and society to be
more useful and beneficial to him by changing the old and
creating the new.
Creativity, like independence, constitutes an essential
quality of man, the social being. Independence finds expression
mainly in man’s position as master of the world; creativity is
expressed mainly in man’s role as transformer of the world.
Man is a being with consciousness, that is, a conscious
social being.
Consciousness is an attribute of social man, which determines
all his endeavours to understand and reshape the world and
himself Because he has consciousness man understands the world
and the laws of its motion and development, reshapes and
advances nature and society as he desires. Consciousness
guarantees the independence and creativity of man, the social
being, and ensures his purposeful cognition and practice.
Independence, creativity and consciousness, after all, are
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what enables man to be superior to any other being and to be
the most powerful being in the world, to approaeh the world not
fatalistieally but revolutionarily, not passively but aetively, and
to reshape the world not blindly but purposefully and
eonseiously. Man, the soeial being, who has independenee,
ereativity and eonseiousness, is preeisely the only dominator
and remaker of the world.
Man earmot, of eourse, live outside the world; he lives and
eonduets his aetivity in the world.
Nature is the objeet of man’s labour and also is the material
souree of his life. Soeiety is a eommunity where people live
and eonduet aetivities. Natural environments and soeial
eonditions have a great effeet on human aetivity. Whether
natural environments are good or bad and, in partieular,
whether the politieal and eeonomie systems of a soeiety are
progressive or reaetionary-these faetors may favourably affeet
human endeavour to remake nature and develop soeiety or limit
and restriet that aetivity.
But man does not merely adapt himself to environments and
eonditions. By his independent, ereative and eonseious aetivity,
man eontinuously transforms nature and soeiety, ehanging as he
desires what does not meet his needs, and replaeing what is
outdated and reaetionary with what is new and progressive.
This is man’s endeavour and straggle to ehange and transform
the world into one that serves man better.
The Juehe idea established a man-eentred outlook on the
world by throwing a fresh light on the essential eharaeteristies
of man and his position and role in the world.
It had already been known that the world eonsists of
material and ehanges and develops as a result of the motion of
material. The Juehe idea gives a new world outlook by
answering the question of who is the master that dominates
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nature and society and where is the force that transforms them.
That the world is dominated and reshaped by man is a new
viewpoint on the world in relation to man.
The Juche idea shows a trew viewpoint and attitude to the
world, on the basis of man’s position and role as master of the
world.
The viewpoint and attitude to the world shown by the Juche
idea are those with which the world is approached by focussing
on man, the master of the world.
Taking a man-centred attitude towards the world means
approaching the world from the viewpoint of interests of man,
the master of the world.
The world should naturally be approached from this angle
because man is the master of the world. Man understands and
transforms the world in order to bring everything in the world
to serve him. Man is the most precious being in the world, and
his interests are more valuable than any others in the world.
Everything in the world has its value only when it serves man.
Therefore, approaching the world from the viewpoint of
making it serve man better is an absolutely correct viewpoint
and attitude to the world.
Approaching the world by focussing on man means dealing
with the change and development of the world mainly on the
basis of the activity of man who transforms it.
Man is the most powerful being in the world, and man alone
is capable of transforming the world. It is man and none other
that requires its transformation and performs this work. Man
acts upon and transforms the world as he desires, drawing on
the objective laws. The world is changed for the benefit of man
only by his energetic activity. For this reason, it is an absolutely
correct viewpoint and attitude to the world to approach its
change and development from the standpoint of man’s positive
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activity to transform nature and society purposefully and
consciously to meet his own desire.
The Juche viewpoint and attitude to the world are truly
revolutionary in that they enable men to transform the world
and shape their destiny independently, creatively and
consciously, with a high degree of awareness that they are
masters of the world and their own destiny.
The Juche world outlook which is based on the
philosophical principle that man is the master of everything and
decides everything, is an absolutely correct outlook on the
world in our time.
As history advances, man’s position and role as master of the
world is strengthened, and the extent of people’s domination over
the world increases daily through their independent, creative and
conscious struggle. In our time the masses of the people have
emerged as tme masters of the world, and through their struggle
the world is being changed more and more to serve the masses.
Today the position and role of the masses of the people as
masters of the world are becoming stronger than ever before.
This reality proves more patently the validity and vitality of the
principle of Juche philosophy that man is the master of
everything and decides everything.
3. THE SOCIO-HISTORICAL PRINCIPLES
OF THE JUCHE IDEA
The Juche idea clarifies the laws of historical development
and social revolution. This idea has thrown a fresh light on the
fundamental principles of the social movement, the
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revolutionary movement, of the working masses who create and
develop history.
The socio-historical principles elucidated by the Juche idea
constitute a new socio-historical outlook, the Juche outlook on
history.
1) THE MASSES OF THE PEOPLE ARE
THE SUBJECT OF SOCIAL HISTORY
The question of the subject of history is a basic question in
understanding the development of society, the development of
revolution, from the attitude and point of view of Juche.
As the leader instracted, the working masses are the subject
of history and the motive force of social progress.
History develops through the struggle of the masses to
transform nature and society. That history develops precisely
means that the position and role of the masses as the subject of
history are enhanced.
The socio-historical movement has its own peculiar laws
which are different from those of natural motion. Of course, the
social movement has something in common with the natural
movement in that it is also a motion of material. The social
movement, too, is governed by the universal laws of the
material world. But the social movement has its subject,
whereas there is no such thing in the motion of nature. In nature
the motion takes place spontaneously through the interaction of
material elements which exist objectively. In contrast, the
social movement is caused and developed by the volitional
action and role of the subject.
The subject of the social movement consists in the masses
of the people. Without the masses there would be no social
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movement itself, nor would it be eoneeivable to talk about
historieal progress.
The masses of the people are the masters of revolution and
eonstruetion and the deeisive faetor in transforming nature and
developing soeiety. The revolutionary struggle and eonstruetion
work are undertakings for the very masses and of the masses
themselves. The masses of the people undertake the revolution
and eonstruetion for themselves in order to shape their destiny.
It is the masses that want the revolution and eonstruetion, and it
is also the masses that earry them out. They produee all soeial
wealth by their hands, and transform the world and advanee
history by their struggle. But for the ereative aetivity of the
masses, the soeial ehange and progress would be ineoneeivable.
Human history shows that the masses’ wisdom and ability to
understand and transform the world are unlimited, though the
seope of the world ereated and ehanged by eaeh of the
generations is relatively limited.
The position of the masses grows stronger and their power
inereases through the transformation of nature and soeiety.
With the eonsolidation of their position and growth in their
strength, their positive aetion on soeio-historieal progress
inereases.
The subjeet of history is the working masses, not the
reaetionary exploiting elasses. The working masses earve out
and develop history, but the exploiting elasses try to arrest and
turn baek the historieal advanee. All exploiting elasses, after
all, eonstitute a reaetion against history; they are the target of
revolution. The whole eourse of the existenee of elass soeieties
has been a history of sharp struggles between the ereators of
history and reaetionaries of history, between the masters of
revolution and the targets of revolution, that is, between the
working masses and the reaetionary exploiting elasses. Soeiety
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has advanced and developed through these struggles.
Although they are the subject of history, the masses of the
people do not hold the same position and play the same role in
all ages and in all societies. In the class society, unaware of
their social status and class relationship and their strength for a
long time in the past, the working masses could not unite into a
political force. Therefore, they were deprived of all rights,
subjected to exploitation and oppression, by a handful of mling
classes and denied their legitimate position as masters of
society. Even in the exploiting society they created all material
and cultural wealth by their own efforts, but they were unable
to shape history in an independent manner, because they could
not occupy the position of masters of society. Only by seizing
state power and the means of production in their own hands and
by establishing a socialist system can the working masses free
themselves from exploitation and oppression and create history
consciously as true masters of society and their own destiny.
In the socialist society the working masses undergo a
radical change in their status and destiny, and their position and
role are enhanced. This is due to the revolutionary leadership
and struggle of the working class.
The process of development of a socialist society under the
leadership of the working class is the process of working-
classizing the whole society. When the whole society is
reshaped completely on the pattern of the advanced working
class under its leadership, the position of the popular masses,
the subject of history, would be remarkably stronger, and their
role in pushing forward the historical progress and
revolutionary development incomparably higher.
If they are to hold their position and fulfd their role as
subject of history, the popular masses must be brought into
contact with leadership. Only under correct leadership, would
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the masses, though creators of history, be able to occupy the
position and perform their role as subject of socio-historical
development.
The link between leadership and masses is a very important
question especially in the revolutionary movement, the
communist movement, which is carried out by the working
class and the broad masses of other people. Without correct
leadership the communist movement would not advance
victoriously because this movement itself is a highly conscious
and organized one involving a serious class struggle.
The question of leadership in this movement is precisely the
question of leadership given by the party and the leader to the
masses of the people.
The working-class party is the general staff of the
revolution, and the leader of the working class is the foremost
leader of the revolution. How the masses are awakened to
consciousness and organized in a revolutionary way, and how
they perform their revolutionary duties and historical mission,
depend on whether or not they are given correct leadership by
the party and the leader.
Only when they receive correct guidance from the party and
the leader, would the working class and the masses of other
people be able to vigorously develop the deep-going and
complicated revolutionary struggle to transform nature and
society, achieve national and class liberation, build a socialist,
communist society successfully, and run it properly.
As the leader said, the masses of the people have now
emerged as masters of history, masters of revolution and
construction, and are transforming the world more and more as
they desire.
The working people including the working class are
standing firmly in the central place of the historical
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development of our time. Hundreds of millions of people who
have long suffered elass and national oppression and
exploitation are vigorously advaneing on the road of
sovereignty and independenee and soeial progress and playing
a greater role in shaping the destiny of humanity and the future
of the world. Beeause of this grand forward movement of our
time eapitalism and imperialism, whieh has grown fat on the
blood and sweat of the working masses and lorded it over their
destiny for eenturies, is preeipitating irreversibly into
bankruptey and towards its downfall, deep into the grave of
history.
The masses of the people who have beeome legitimate
masters of their own destiny are transforming the world and
ereating a new history of mankind in aeeordanee with their
aspirations. This is the basie trend of modem history whieh no
foree ean ever stop.
2) HUMAN HISTORY IS THE HISTORY
OF THE PEOPLE’S STRUGGLE
FOR INDEPENDENCE
The history of human soeiety is the history of the straggle
of the popular masses to defend and realize independenee.
The leader said that all revolutionary straggles are struggles
of the popular masses to defend their independenee.
Throughout the long history of human soeiety people have
eeaselessly straggled to free themselves from the fetters of
soeiety and nature. All the straggles to transform soeiety, nature
and man are straggles to defend and realize independenee for
the masses of the people.
The straggle for soeial reform is an undertaking of the
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masses to provide themselves with soeial and politieal
eonditions for their independent life, free from elass and
national subjugation. If they are to live and aet independently,
people must destroy the outdated soeial system whieh tramples
upon independenee. Only when they wipe out the old soeial
institutions and set up a soeial system whieh provides people
with independenee, will the masses of the people be able to
beeome true masters of soeiety and their destiny and lead an
independent life.
The struggle to transform nature is an effort of the masses to
ereate material eonditions for an independent life, free from the
fetters of nature. If people are to live and make progress, they
must work to harness nature and produee material wealth. Only
through the transformation and eonquest of nature ean they free
themselves from its fetters and prepare material eonditions for
an independent life.
The struggle to transform man is the struggle of the masses
to ereate ideologieal and eultural eonditions for an independent
life, free from the shaekles of outdated ideas and eulture. Only
when they are eompletely free from the shaekles of outdated
ideas and eulture and aequire the eonseiousness of
independenee and sound eulture, will people be able to hold
their destiny firmly in their hands, reshape it, and live and aet
genuinely as independent beings.
The transformation of soeiety, nature, and people is the
main element of the masses’ struggle for independenee. Man
ean realize independenee eompletely only when he is free from
soeial bondage, natural fetters, and the shaekles of outdated
ideas and eulture. The struggle for independenee should be
earried out on a full seale in all spheres of soeial reform, natural
transformation and human remoulding.
The primary question arising in the struggle of the popular
19
masses for independence is to realize independence socially
and politically.
Since man is a social being, independence must first be
guaranteed socially and politically. This is the key to man’s
freedom from natural fetters and also to his ideological and
cultural development. As long as they are subjugated socially
and politically, the masses of the people cannot adequately
benefit from the productive forces, even if these are developed,
nor can they be free from the bondage of reactionary ideas and
culture.
The history of human society ever since its division into
hostile classes has, above all, been a history of social
revolutions to realize social and political independence for the
popular masses. Through social revolutions the masses have
carved out their destiny and developed society.
Owing to slave revolts which were, so to speak, the first
struggle in history of the exploited working masses for
independence, and to peasant struggles against feudalism in the
Middle Ages, the slavery and the feudal system collapsed. That
meant progress in the struggle of the working masses for
independence. But that was only a replacement of the chains of
slavery with feudal fetters, which in turn were replaced with the
yoke of capital, not the abolition of class domination and
oppression itself In the history of human society, capitalism is
the last exploiting system which tramples upon the masses’
aspirations and demand for independence. It is a violently
oppressive system which combines class domination with
national oppression.
The liquidation of the capitalist system and establishment of
a new socialist system mark a historic turning point in the
development of the revolutionary struggle for independence.
With the establishment of the socialist system, all exploiting
20
classes and institutions which trample upon the aspirations and
demands of the masses for independence, are abolished, and the
masses are provided with the necessary conditions which
enable them to hold state power and production means in their
hands and lead a fully independent life.
The transformation of nature and man, along with social
reform, is an important historic task in the struggle of the
popular masses for independence.
In the whole course of development of human society, the
masses of the people have continuously struggled to free
themselves from the fetters of nature and enhance themselves
ideologically and culturally.
At the dawn of human society, people’s creative power was
weak, and their ideological and cultural levels were very low.
By their age-long hard-fought struggles the masses have
increased their ability to conquer nature, enriched their
knowledge, developed the productive forces, and steadily raised
the levels of their ideological consciousness and culture.
Modem science and technology, progressive ideas and culture
which have been developed by human society, are without
exception the result of the historical straggles of the popular
masses.
The transformation of nature and man, that is, the historic
cause of freeing the popular masses from the fetters of nature
and outdated ideas and culture and developing them to be
powerful beings capable of dominating nature and real
possessors of revolutionary ideas and culture, can be fully
undertaken and achieved with success only under socialism
where the working masses are masters of society. Under
socialism where the question of revolutionary change in the
social system has already been resolved in the straggle for
independence, the major tasks are to reshape nature and re-
21
educate people to emancipate the masses, who have eliminated
social oppression, from the shackles of nature and outdated
ideas and culture. When the work of transforming nature and
re-educating people is pushed forward in a complete way on the
basis of steadily consolidating the socialist system, the
independence of the masses will be more completely realized in
all spheres.
Today, the struggle to defend the masses’ independence
assumes an international character. Since the forces of
imperialism which oppress independence are allied on an
international scale, the struggle to oppose imperialist
domination and oppression and defend independence, too,
cannot but be an international undertaking. Because of the
community of their historical backgrounds and interests, the
formerly oppressed nations and peoples who have been
subjected to colonial slavery, with their independence and
sovereignty downtrodden by imperialism, are united together
on the same front of struggle to oppose imperialism and defend
independence. All countries, all nations, and peoples the world
over that advocate independence must struggle jointly, in close
unity under the revolutionary banner of anti-imperialism and
independence. This is the only way to abolish the imperialist
world order which is based on inequality and full of
contradictions, and to set up a new international relationship
based on independence and equality amongst countries and
nations.
The age-long, ceaseless struggle of the masses for
independence can win its ultimate aim by building socialism
and communism. The struggle for socialism and communism is
the highest stage of the struggle for independence. It is a
struggle to end once and for all the exploitation of man by man,
the oppression of class by class, and the domination of state by
22
state in human society, to wipe out all remnants of old societies
handed down through history, and to finally free the people
from their shackles. In a communist society the masses of the
people will lead a completely independent life as masters of
nature and society and as true masters of their own destiny.
Defending independence is an absolute requirement of man
as a social being and his inalienable fundamental right. It is
natural that man who regards independence as his life and soul,
combats any encroachment on his independence. The popular
masses rise in the revolutionary struggle for independence
against the oppressors. And for the sake of independence they
devote all their creative talents and energies to building
socialism and communism.
If independence is to be defended, an independent stand
must firmly be maintained in the revolution and construction.
As the leader instructed, the independent stand is the
fundamental stand that must be adhered to in the revolution and
construction. Sticking to this stand is the requirement of the
revolutionary struggle, the struggle for independence.
The independent stand is a thoroughly revolutionary stand,
the working-class stand. The working class is the most
independent class which struggles to emancipate itself by its
own initiative and to become the master of its own destiny. The
cause of socialism and communism is the historic cause of the
working class, aimed at completely realizing the independence
of the masses of the people. Any stands which are contrary to
the independent stand are alien to the working-class stand, the
stand of the popular masses, and they are all harmful to the
cause of socialism and communism.
The independent stand finds expression in the exercise of
the rights as masters of the revolution and construction. This
means that the masses of the people handle all problems of the
23
revolution and construction in their interests, according to their
own independent judgement and decision. The right to deal
with all these problems belongs solely to the people, the
masters, of the country concerned. All questions related to the
revolution and construction in a country must naturally be
disposed of by the judgement and decision of the people of that
country. This is the only way the people of each country can
defend their interests and carry through their will and desire.
The people of each country must not tolerate any foreign
pressure or interference. Failing to resolve one’s own problems
by one’s own decision under pressure or in bondage to others
means losing one’s rights as master; following will of others
and acting against one’s own interests means giving up one’s
rights as master.
The independent stand is expressed in Mfdling the
responsibility as masters. This signifies that the popular masses
resolve all questions in the revolutionary struggle and conshuction
work on their own responsibility and initiative as befit masters. As
the revolution and constraction are their own undertakings, they
ought to resolve all problems arising in these undertakings by their
own initiative on the principle of self-reliance. One might receive
aid from others in the revolution and conshuction, but in any case
the main thing is one’s own initiative. Trying to get one’s own
work done by others or to get one’s own problem solved by others
is tantamount to shirking one’s responsibility as master and
relinquishing one’s position as such.
Only when one upholds the independent stand can one
always resolve the question of revolution in one’s country, the
question of one’s nation, in accordance with one’s own views
and conviction and in the revolutionary spirit of self-reliance,
and carry out the revolution and construction successfully,
whatever the circumstances.
24
The people of eaeh eountry must not only oppose
aggression and subjugation in firm defenee of their
independenee, but should also fight against imperialism and
dominationism whieh trample upon the independenee of other
peoples. Only when one opposes sueh eneroaehment on one’s
own independenee and the aet of trampling upon that of others,
ean one be said to be standing truly in defenee of independenee.
The revolutionary stmggle of the popular masses against
imperialism and dominationism whieh trample upon
independenee, and for the vietory of the eause of soeialism and
eommunism is steadily being strengthened and developed.
Nothing ean stem the eurrent of historieal development whieh
demands independenee and advanees on the road of
independenee. Not only today but also the future belongs
entirely to the people who are struggling for independenee.
3) THE SOCIO-HISTORICAL MOVEMENT
IS A CREATIVE MOVEMENT
OF THE POPULAR MASSES
The soeio-historieal movement is a ereative movement of
the popular masses to transform and ehange nature and soeiety.
The masses’ aetivity for an independent life is eharaeterized
by ereativity. Man realizes his desire in life through his ereative
aetivity.
The objeets of man’s ereative aetivity are nature and
soeiety. By means of his aetivity to transform nature whieh
surrounds him and to reform the soeiety in whieh he lives, man
ereates new material and eultural wealth and builds a new
system and a new life.
The masses of the people are ereators who remake and
25
change nature and society. They are desirous of abolishing the
old and creating the new and have creative ability to transform
nature and society.
Human history is the popular masses’ history of creation.
Since the beginning of human history, the masses of the
people have been conquering nature and making what is
necessary for their existence and development by their creative
labour, and effecting social progress by their creative activity to
change the old. Their continuous creative activity has advanced
society.
Their creative activity to conquer nature and bring about
social progress accompanies struggle. The process of creation is
precisely the process of struggle. Without struggle the creation
of new things would be inconceivable. The process of
replacement of an old social system with a new one and the
social emancipation of the masses in particular is a process of
fierce class struggle. A revolution begins with struggle and
ends with struggle. The forces which go in for the preservation
of an old system and life never give up their place of their own
accord. A new system and life can be created only through the
struggle to wipe out the old forces. All progress and changes
made by humanity throughout history, after all, are the fruit of
the popular masses’ creative struggle.
The process of their creative struggle is the process of
developing themselves to be more powerful beings.
The masses of the people have increased their creative
ability while at the same time transforming nature and
developing society. The history of social productive forces is
the history of the growth of men’s creative capability to
conquer nature. The history of social revolutions is the history
of the process to strengthen the revolutionary power of the
masses to reshape society.
26
With growth in the creative ability of the masses, the socio-
historical movement advances further.
The communist movement organized and developed by the
working class is the highest form of creative movement in
human history. This is a movement to build a society where the
independence and creativity of the masses of the people are
fully realized, the highest ideal of mankind which is
fundamentally different from all class societies that have
existed in history. The creative power of the masses, too, is
exploited fully in the revolutionary movement of the working
class. It is not until their involvement in the revolutionary
movement of the working class, the communist movement, that
the working masses whose creative activity has been restrained
by the ruling classes during the whole period of antagonistic
class societies, become genuine creators of history who
transform the world to meet their own will and desire and shape
their destiny in an independent manner.
The revolutionary movement, the creative activity of the
masses, requires that the creative stand be always maintained
firmly in the struggles to reshape nature and society.
Adhering to the creative stand is indispensable to leading
the revolutionary movement to victory. Only when they adhere
to the creative stand, can the popular masses keep properly their
position as masters of the revolution and construction, and fulfil
their role as such.
The creative stand is one that the masses of the people
ought to maintain as transformers of nature and society, as
shapers of their own destiny. Without maintaining this stand it
would be impossible for them to reshape nature and society to
meet their will and desire or hold their own destiny in their
hands and shape it for themselves. Adherence to the creative
stand is a sure guarantee for solving all problems by the efforts
27
of the masses themselves to meet the requirement of the
revolution and in accordance with their interests.
As the leader instructed, the creative stand constitutes the
fundamental method that must be relied on in the revolution
and construction.
The revolutionary movement requires that one should
depend firmly on the creative wisdom and strength of the
masses and utilize them to the full. The masses are masters and
the motive force of the revolution and possessors of
inexhaustible creative talents and strength. Only when one
depends on their creative talents and strength, will one be able
to understand the objective world correctly, solve all problems
to suit the reality, and transform nature and society
successfully. The creative stand provides the method by which
to give an active stimulus to the creative power of the masses,
push forward the revolution and construction on one’s own
initiative, overcome the difficulties in the path of progress by
the struggle of the masses, and ensure continued innovations
and ceaseless advance.
The revolutionary movement takes place in a specific reality
which is always diverse and undergoes ceaseless changes. It
rejects all sorts of schemata and dogmas and opposes the
outdated attitude of imitating others mechanically. A schematic
viewpoint and a dogmatic way of thinking restrain creativity
and prevent correct understanding of the ever-changing diverse
realities and block the possibility of working out a scientific
method of revolution and construction. Only when one bases
oneself firmly on the specific reality and maintains a creative
attitude towards everything, will one be able to identify the
correct method of transforming nature and society and apply it
skilfully. The creative stand represents the method whereby one
rejects a dogmatic attitude and grasps the reality in its true
28
perspective and concretely by one’s own thinking and solves all
questions accordingly.
The creative stand constitutes the revolutionary method
which enables one to meet most effectively the requirements of
our time when the masses of the people have emerged as
masters of history and when the revolutionary movement is
highly developed. Our time requires that the role of the masses
in the revolution and construction be enhanced to the highest
degree and that all questions be solved creatively. The creative
stand offers a sure guarantee for the victory of the revolution by
enabling one to formulate a scientific revolutionary strategy
and struggle policies in keeping with the development of our
time and the new requirements of the revolution and ceaselessly
increase the creative power of the popular masses.
4) THE PEOPLE’S CONSCIOUSNESS
OF INDEPENDENCE PLAYS THE DECISIVE
ROLE IN REVOLUTIONARY STRUGGLE
The revolution is propelled forward to victory by the
conscious struggle of the masses of the people.
The leader put in a new light the principle that the masses’
consciousness of independence plays the decisive role in the
revolutionary struggle.
Ideological consciousness determines and regulates all
actions of man.
Consciousness, essentially, is the highest quality that makes
man superior to all beings and the most powerful in the world.
It is the sophisticated function of man’s brain, the most
developed of his physical organs. The brain plays the central
role in the activity of human life, and consciousness which is
29
the function of the brain, commands all actions of man.
Ideological consciousness reflects man’s desire and
interests, and for this reason, it has the most active effect on his
conduct. Without the determination and regulation of
ideological consciousness, man’s independent and creative
activities would be inconceivable.
If a man is to be an independent creative being, he must
have the consciousness of independence. This consciousness
means the awareness of one’s being the master of one’s own
destiny and signifies the will to shape one’s destiny by one’s
own initiative. Only when a man has the consciousness of
independence can he conduct conscious activity to conquer
nature and actively struggle against the oppressors who
encroach and trample upon his independence. Man’s endeavour
to acquire a scientific understanding of the world and transform
it actively is none other than the manifestation of his
consciousness; man’s role in transforming nature and society,
after all, is the role of his ideological consciousness.
The consciousness of independence plays the decisive role
in the masses’ revolutionary movement for independence.
All revolutionary movements are conscious movements. A
revolutionary movement begins with awakening people to an
advanced idea and emerges victorious on the strength of the
masses of the people who are armed with the advanced idea.
Ideological consciousness is the decisive factor that
determines man’s role in the revolution and construction.
Ideological consciousness determines the class character of
the actions of people who participate in the revolutionary
movement. There can be no supraclass ideology in a class
society, and what is basic to man’s ideological consciousness is
his class awareness. People’s attitude towards the class struggle
is determined by their class consciousness. Of course, people’s
30
activities are based on their social and class positions and
limited by them. But their social and class positions have effect
on their actions always through their ideological consciousness.
Which class interests people struggle for in a class society
depends on which class ideology they have. Only when they
have the ideology of an advanced class, the consciousness of
independence, can they have a correct class standpoint and
struggle for the victory of the revolution.
The will and fighting power of people demonstrated in the
revolutionary movement are also determined by their ideological
consciousness. The level of the willpower and strength
demonstrated by the people is determined by their ideology. Only
those who have a firm consciousness of independence will be able
to take an indomitable attitude towards the revolution, actively
participate in it with a strong will, and straggle to the end,
overcoming all difficulhes and trials.
The masses’ revolutionary ability is unfathomable, but it
cannot find full expression if they are not ideologically
awakened. Ideologically unawakened masses are unable to rise
in the revolutionary straggle in spite of exploitation and
oppression imposed upon them, nor can they successfully
transform nature and society to meet their needs. Only those
masses who are conscious of their class interests can
demonstrate their revolutionary force to the full and guarantee
victory in the revolution.
The role of ideological consciousness steadily increases
with the development of the revolutionary movement.
By nature, the communist movement, the highest stage of the
revolutionary movement, requires a high degree of consciousness
from people. The socialist and communist societies are built by the
purposeful and conscious efforts of the popular masses. The role of
ideological consciousness is incomparably enhanced when
31
building socialism and communism after the seizure of political
power and the establishment of the socialist system by the working
class. Capitalism depends on the discipline of hunger and the rod,
but socialism and communism rely on the high level of people’s
consciousness. Tme, control is necessary in the socialist society
which is transitional. But the more the remnants of old society are
eliminated as progress is made in building socialism and
communism, the greater becomes the significance of people’s
consciousness. Socialism and communism provide all conditions
for increasing the role of people’s ideological consciousness to the
full. In the socialist society, the advanced ideology of the working
class prevails all over the community. Capitalism subordinates
even man’s thinking and action to money considerahons, but
socialism and communism make the masses of the people true
masters of society, and therefore give full play to the revolutionary
enthusiasm and creative zeal of the masses.
The tremendous role of ideological consciousness in the
revolutionary struggle for socialism and communism is also
connected with the characteristics of the revolutionary thought
of the working class.
The role of ideological consciousness in social progress
depends on its class character and content. The reactionary
ideology of the exploiting class hampers social progress,
whereas the advanced ideology of the progressive class gives
impetus to the development of society. The revolutionary
ideology of the working class, the most independent class, has
an incomparably greater revolutionary influence than any other
advanced ideas in history. The revolutionary thought of the
working class mirrors the laws of social development and the
aspirations of the masses in a scientific manner, so that it
becomes a great material force in social progress. It is a weapon
with which to understand and change the reality and create the
32
future. Unlike the reactionary thinking of the exploiting class
which hinders the forward movement of history and advocates
the old moribund system, the revolutionary thought of the
working class performs the mission to push forward and lead
historical progress.
The revolutionary movement is a conscious movement, and
for this reason one must always hold fast to people’s thinking
as the main thing in the revolutionary struggle and construction
work. Doing this is an important principle that must be
maintained in the revolution and construction.
Grasping man’s thinking as the main thing in the revolution
and construction means solving all problems by attaching
decisive importance to the ideological factor and enhancing the
role of ideological consciousness.
Attaching decisive importance to the ideological factor is a
law of revolutionary movement. Material factors, too, play a
great part in the revolutionary movement. But the existence of
material conditions does not give rise to the revolution
automatically. How to make use of these material conditions
depends on people’s conscious activity. Whether these material
conditions are prepared quickly or not depends on man’s
activity. The revolution can be pushed forward only by the
active struggle of the revolutionaries and the popular masses.
Fundamentally speaking, a revolution does not always break
out when all the necessary conditions exist, nor is it carried out
always in favourable circumstances.
Waiting with folded arms for all conditions to ripen is
tantamount to refusing to make a revolution. Primary
importance, therefore, should be given to the ideological factor
in the revolutionary struggle and construction work, and on this
basis strenuous efforts should be made to create all the
necessary conditions.
33
Solving all problems by raising the level of people’s
conseiousness is the method inherent to the communists. The
communists who struggle for the freedom and happiness of the
people, lead the revolution to victory and fulfil their noble
mission by awakening people ideologically and making them
conscious and encouraging them to undertake the struggle of
their own accord. The communists have a powerful ideological
weapon capable of awakening all the people to activity.
Although the capitalist class, too, strives to spread its ideology,
capitalist thinking cannot be accepted by the masses as their
own because it fundamentally conflicts with their interests.
Only the working-class ideology which champions the interests
of the working masses can be accepted by all the people, and it
alone can dominate the whole society.
Doing everything by awakening people politically and
ideologically is a solid guarantee for the triumph of the
revolution and construction. Reliance on the high degree of the
masses’ revolutionary consciousness will give a strong impetus
to the revolutionary struggle and construction work, overcome
unfavourable conditions and speed up the victory of the
revolution.
4, THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES
OF THE JUCHE IDEA
The guiding principles of the Juche idea are the guide to
establishing Juche in Party and state activities, and in all
spheres of revolution and construction. They are explicit
fundamental principles which must be observed in successfully
34
carrying out the revolution and construction by adhering to the
independent and creative stands and enhancing the role of
ideological consciousness.
In order to apply the Juche idea to the revolution and
construction it is essential to observe thoroughly the guiding
principles of the Juche idea.
1) THE INDEPENDENT STAND MUST
BE MAINTAINED
If the revolution and construction are to be carried out as
required by the Juche idea, independence must be maintained
and realized in Party and state activities.
The leader laid down the principles of Juche in ideology,
independence in politics, self-sufficiency in the economy, and
self-reliance in defence as the principles of realizing
independence. The principles of Juche, independence, self-
sufficiency and self-reliant defence are the guiding principles of
realizing independence in the spheres of ideology, politics, the
economy and defence.
(I) Juche in Ideology
Establishing Juche in ideology is the primary requirement of
the masses’ revolutionary struggle for independence. The
revolution and construction are man’s conscious activities.
Establishing Juche in thinking, therefore, is the only way to
establish Juche in politics, the economy, defence, and all other
domains.
To establish Juche in ideology means having the
consciousness that one is the master of the revolution and
35
construction, thinking and doing everything, centring on the
revolution in one’s own country, and acquiring the viewpoint
and attitude of solving all questions by one’s own talents and
initiative.
The party and people of a country are masters of the
revolution in that country, and to carry out the revolution in
one’s country successfully is the basic mission of the party and
people of one’s country. The world revolution, too, will only be
successful when the revolution in every country is successful
and when, on this basis, mutual support and cooperation is
given. For this reason, the party and people of every country
must firmly establish Juche in ideology, and carry out the
revolution and construction in their country in a responsible
manner, with the attitude of masters.
In order to establish Juche in ideology, it is necessary to
equip oneself with the revolutionary idea of the working class
and with the policy of one’s party.
The working class is an independent class, and their
revolutionary thinking is an independent thinking. Only when
one is equipped with the revolutionary thought of the working
class, will one be able to carry out successfully the revolution
and construction, however difficult and complex the situation
is, with the awareness that one is the master of the revolution.
The policy of the revolutionary party of a country, the
embodiment of the revolutionary thinking of the working class,
is the guide to the revolution and construction in that country.
One must equip oneself with one’s party policy and regard it as
the guideline of thinking and practice. This is the only way to
carry out the revolution and construction in accordance with the
desire of one’s own people and the specific reality of one’s own
country and fulfil one’s responsibility as master of the
revolution.
36
When we say that we establish Juche in ideology, we
precisely mean that we equip ourselves with the Juche idea and
Party policy, the embodiment of the Juche idea, and establish
the monolithic ideological system of the Party. Only when the
whole Party and the whole society are imbued with the
monolithic ideological system, will we be in a position to say
that Juche in ideology has been firmly established.
If one is to establish Juche in thinking, one must be well
versed in one’s own things.
Only when one knows the things of one’s country well, will
one be able to solve all problems arising in the revolution and
construction in an independent manner and to suit one’s
specific situation and carry out the revolution and construction
in conformity with the aspirations and requirements of one’s
people. Only then will one be able also to love one’s country
and people ardently and demonstrate a high degree of patriotic
devotion and revolutionary enthusiasm.
Koreans must know well Korean history, geography,
economics, culture and the custom of the Korean nation, and in
particular our Party’s policy, its revolutionary history and
revolutionary traditions. Only then will they be able to establish
Juche and become true Korean patriots, the Korean
communists.
In order to establish Juche in thinking, it is necessary to
possess a high sense of national dignity and revolutionary
pride.
Without the sense of national pride that one’s nation is
inferior to none, without the pride and honour of the
revolutionary people, it would be impossible to live up to one’s
conviction in an independent manner, uphold national
independence and dignity and emerge victorious in the difficult
revolutionary struggle. A nation with a strong sense of national
37
dignity and revolutionary pride is uneonquerable, but a nation
without this attribute is powerless. The peoples of small
eountries who have long suffered oppression by foreign forees
need so mueh the more the sense of national dignity and
revolutionary pride. In the small eountries where nihilism and
flunkeyism towards big powers are nationally deep-rooted as a
result of the imperialist poliey of assimilating eolonies and
obliterating their national eulture, they must give speeial
attention to the struggle to inerease the sense of national dignity
and revolutionary pride.
We must ensure that all the people eherish the dignity of the
resoureeful and eourageous Korean nation, the sense of pride
and honour of a people who is making a revolution under the
guidanee of the great leader in partieular.
The task of establishing Juehe in ideology requires that
national eulture should be developed and that the eultural and
teehnieal levels of the masses raised.
We must build eulture whieh is national in form and
revolutionary and soeialistie in eontent, Juehe-oriented eulture
whieh agrees with our people’s sentiments and is based on the
working-elass line. This will make people’s ideologieal and
spiritual life healthy and faeilitate the establishment of Juehe in
ideology. In order to develop soeialist national eulture on a
sound basis, we must thoroughly prevent imperialist eultural
penetration and, at the same time, rejeet the tendeney to return
to the past and nihilist inelination with regard to the heritage of
national eulture, inherit and develop its fine traditions, and
eritieally adopt progressive elements of foreign eulture, whieh
are eongenial to our people’s sentiments.
It is also neeessary to make strenuous efforts to develop
seienee and teehnology and raise the eultural and teehnieal
standards of the masses. This will enable the working people to
38
become true masters of nature and society and get rid of the
idea of worshipping and depending on others in the matter
related to science and technology, and thoroughly establish
Juche.
If Juche is to be established in ideology, servility to big
powers and all other outdated ideas should be opposed.
Establishing Juche in thinking itself means an ideological
emancipation of people from the fetters of outdated ideas, and
an ideological revolution to establish a new Juche outlook on
the world. In order to establish Juche in ideology we must
reject all sorts of outdated ideas which are contrary to the Juche
idea, and thoroughly eliminate servitude to big powers in
particular.
Flunkeyism is an attitude peculiar to slaves serving and
worshipping big powers and developed countries, and an
attitude of nihilism which means looking down upon one’s own
country and nation and despising them. If one is inclined to be
servile, one would be in the habit of grovelling before others
and following them: if others take to revisionism, one would
follow suit; and if others adopt dogmatism, one would act
likewise.
As the leader said, if a person falls into flunkeyism, he
would become a fool; if a nation is servile to big power, the
country would go to min; and if a party is subservient to big
powers, it would make a mess of the revolution and
constraction.
What is most harmful and dangerous at present is
flunkeyism towards US imperialism in particular. This servility,
which is expressed in the fear and worship of the United States,
is doing a great harm to the revolutionary straggle of the
people. The harmfulness of this servility is most notable in
south Korea today. Servility to US imperialism, which has been
39
spread by the US imperialist aggressors and their stooges, is the
most harmful ideologieal poison whieh is paralyzing people’s
national and elass eonseiousness in south Korea and trampling
upon the preeious eultural heritage and beautiful eustoms of our
nation. Unless the struggle is intensified to oppose the fear and
worship of the United States among the south Korean people
and to heighten their spirit of national independenee, neither the
vietory of the south Korean revolution nor the independent
reunifieation of the eountry would be possible.
The struggle to establish Juehe and oppose flunkeyism
towards big powers is a serious question on whieh the destiny
of the revolution depends. We will eontinue to intensify the
struggle to eliminate flunkeyism and establish Juehe in
ideology and thus guarantee the ultimate vietory of the Korean
revolution.
(2) Independence in Politics
Politics is of decisive significance in social life. Without
independence in politics it would be impossible to talk about
independence at all. Juehe in ideology is expressed, above all,
by independence in politics, and self-sufficiency in the
economy and self-reliance in defence, too, are guaranteed by
independence in politics.
Maintaining independence in politics means upholding
national independence and sovereignty of one’s people,
defending their interests and conducting politics by relying on
them.
As the leader instructed, political independence is the first
criterion and the life and soul of an independent sovereign state.
Only when a nation maintains political independence, will it be
able to ensure independence and freedom and be happy and
40
prosperous. The revolution is a struggle to win politieal
independenee before anything else. Sinee all questions related
to revolution and eonstruetion depend direetly on polities, it ean
be said that the destiny of the revolutionary eause is
determined, after all, by politieal independenee.
In order to ensure politieal independenee, it is imperative to
set up a people’s government.
Man’s right to independenee finds typieal expression in
state power. So the working elass and the masses of the people,
to realize independenee eompletely, must first of all beeome
masters of state power. Only when they hold state power in
their hands and beeome tme masters of state and soeiety, will
they be able to attain politieal independenee and lead an
independent and ereative life.
In order to guarantee politieal independenee it is neeessary
to build internal politieal forees.
Politieal forees are the main eomponent of the revolutionary
forees. Only when one builds strong internal politieal forees
and relies on them, will one be able to win and preserve
sovereignty and ensure independent polities. If powerful
internal politieal forees are to be developed, it is imperative to
strengthen the party, the leading revolutionary foree, and
aehieve the unity and solidarity of the entire population based
on the worker-peasant allianee with the working elass at its
eore. What is most important here is to rally all the people
elosely around the party and the leader. When the party and the
people are solidly united into a single politieal foree, they will
be able to display boundless strength and emerge vietorious in
the revolution and eonstruetion.
If one is to ensure politieal independenee, one must have
one’s own guiding thought, work out one’s poliey by oneself in
aeeordanee with one’s deeision, and earry it through.
41
The main thing in politics is to formulate policies and
implement them. It can be said that independent politics
consists in formulating and implementing all policies
independently. Yielding to foreign pressure and tolerating
foreign intervention in politics or acting at the instigation of
others would make it impossible to maintain principle and
consistency, and would lead the revolution and construction to
failure.
Our Party has laid down and implemented all its policies
independently in accordance with the interests of our people
and the specific conditions of our country, with the Juche idea
as the only guiding ideology, under the wise guidance of the
leader. That is why it has always won shining victories in the
revolution and construction.
In order to ensure independence in politics, it is imperative
to exercise complete sovereignty and equality in foreign
relations.
Independence of a party and a state is expressed, after all, in
foreign relations. To exercise complete sovereignty and
equality in foreign relations is fundamental in ensuring political
independence. Sovereignty is an inviolable right of all parties,
all countries, and all peoples. There are big and small parties,
big and small countries, and economically developed and
underdeveloped peoples in the world, but all parties, all
countries and peoples are equal and independent. No one
should encroach upon the sovereignty of others and no one
should tolerate encroachment on one’s sovereignty.
Independence is not in conflict with internationalism but is
the basis of its strengthening. Just as the world revolution is
inconceivable without the revolution in one’s own country,
internationalism divorced from independence cannot exist. As a
matter of principle, internationalist solidarity must be based on
42
freedom of ehoiee and equality. Only when it is founded on
independenee, will internationalist solidarity beeome based on
free ehoiee and equality and beeome genuine and durable.
Our Party is adhering to the pobey of sbengthening the
solidarity of the soeialist eountries and the international
eommunist movement on the basis of opposing imperialism and
giving support to national-liberation movements in eolonies and
the international working-elass movement, eontinuing advanee
to soeialism and eommunism, and observing the prineiples of
noninterferenee in eaeh other’s internal affairs, mutual respeet,
equality and mutual benefit. Our eountry is also adhering to the
poliey of joining forees with non-aligned eountries, the newly-
emerging nations, on the prineiples of respeet for territorial
integrity and state power, nonaggression, noninterferenee in
eaeh other’s internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and of
eooperating with all eountries whieh are friendly towards us.
In the future, too, we will uphold sovereignty and equality
in foreign relations and maintain the prineiple of eombining
independenee with internationalism.
(3) Self-Sufficiency in the Economy
The eeonomy is the material basis of soeial life. Eeonomie
self-suffieieney enables one to eonsolidate the independenee of
one’s eountry and live independently, provides a sure guarantee
for Juehe in ideology, independenee in polities, and self-
relianee in defenee and ensures rieh material and eultural lives
for the people.
In order to implement the prineiple of eeonomie self-
suffieieney, one must build an independent national eeonomy.
Building an independent national eeonomy means building
an eeonomy whieh is free from dependenee on others and
43
which stands on its own feet, an economy which serves one’s
own people and develops on the strength of the resources of
one’s own country and by the efforts of one’s own people. Such
an economy makes it possible to develop the productive forces
quickly by utilizing the nation’s natural resources in a rational
and integrated way, improve the people’s living standard
continuously, strengthen the material and technical foundations
of socialism, and increase the nation’s political, economic and
military power. It also ensures the exercise of complete
sovereignty and equality in political and economic affairs in
international relations and contributes to strengthening the
world’s anti-imperialist, independent forces and socialist
forces. It is vital to build an independent national economy
particularly in those countries which were backward
economically and technically because of imperialist domination
and plunder in the past. Only when they build an independent
national economy in these countries, will they be able to repel
the new colonial policy of the imperialists, free themselves
completely from their domination and exploitation, wipe out
national inequality, and vigorously advance on the road of
socialism.
In order to build an independent national economy, it is
essential to adhere to the principle of self-reliance in economic
construction.
Self-reliance is the revolutionary spirit and a principle of
struggle of the communists in carrying out the revolution by
their own initiative. One must believe in one’s own strength
and depend on it in economic construction, just as in all other
activities for the revolution and construction. A people who
energetically struggle, with confidence in their own capability,
will be able to do any difficult work. But a people who have no
faith in their own power but only look up to others, will not do
44
anything successfully. Only when one mobilizes the efforts of
one’s people and the resources of one’s country and relies on
one’s own financial resources and technology on the principle
of self-reliance, will one be able to develop the economy
quickly at one’s own desire, overcome all difficulties and bring
prosperity to the country.
If an independent national economy is to be built, the
economy must be developed in a diversified and integral
manner.
Unlike the capitalist economy which is geared to make
money, the socialist independent economy is always aimed at
meeting the demands of the country and the people. So an
independent economy should naturally be developed in such a
multifarious and integral way as to produce independently
heavy and light industry goods and agricultural products to
make the country rich and powerful and improve the people’s
living standard. Such an economy can also develop safely and
quickly on a solid basis.
In order to build an independent economy which is
developed in a multifarious and comprehensive way, it is
necessary, as our practical experience shows, to follow the line
of giving preference to the development of heavy industry and
developing light industry and agriculture simultaneously.
Heavy industry with the machine-building industry as its
backbone is the pillar of an independent national economy.
Heavy industry developed in such a way can guarantee
economic and technical independence and accelerate the
development of light industry and agriculture and the national
economy as a whole on the basis of modem technology.
Moreover, simultaneous development of light industry and
agriculture, along with heavy industry, can ensure a systematic
improvement of the people’s living standard and boost the
45
development of heavy industry itself Solving the problem of
food on one’s own through sueeessful farming, in partieular, is
of tremendous signifieanee in providing the people with
stabilized living eonditions and an independent life.
Equipping the eeonomy with modem teehniques and
training the nation’s teehnieal eadres on an extensive seale are
indispensable for the eonstraetion of an independent national
eeonomy.
Teehnieal independenee is absolutely neeessary for
eeonomie independenee. When one has one’s own developed
teehniques, one will be able to develop and use the natural
resourees of the eountry effeetively and develop the national
eeonomy in a diversified manner. Developed teehnology also
provides the possibility to free the working masses from
baekbreaking labour, narrow down the differenees between
physieal and mental labour and resolve independently the
diffieult and eomplex problems arising in eeonomie and
defenee eonstruetion. Eliminating teehnieal baekwardness from
the national eeonomy and equipping it with modem teehniques
is a revolution. Only when the teehnieal revolution is
aeeelerated eontinuously through the mobilization of all
possibilities in every seetor, will teehnology develop quiekly
and the eountry attain eeonomie and teehnieal independenee in
a short time.
Solving the question of the nation’s teehnieal personnel is a
major faetor in the stmggle for eeonomie and teehnieal
independenee. This is essential to guaranteeing eeonomie and
teehnologieal progress by one’s own initiative. This is a
partieularly important task in building a new soeiety for those
eountries whieh were under the yoke of imperialism in the past
and whieh eonsequently were far removed from modem
seienee and teehnieal development. Therefore, in order to
46
undertake the teehnieal revolution and attain eeonomie and
teehnieal independenee, one must put a lot of effort into the
eultural revolution and thus raise the eultural and teehnieal
levels of the working masses and train an army of national
teehnieal eadres. We must resolutely implement the leader’s
poliey of intelleetualizing the whole soeiety, further raise the
eultural and teehnieal levels of the working masses, improve
the qualities of teehnieal eadres, and train more teehnieians
better.
In order to build an independent national eeonomy, it is
neeessary to establish reliable and independent sourees of raw
materials and fuel.
Depending on others for raw materials and fuel is as good
as leaving one’s eeonomie lifeline in the hands of others. If one
is to be eeonomieally self-suffreient and develop the eeonomy
on a safe basis and with a long-term perspeetive, one must
depend on one’s own raw-material and fuel sourees and mainly
meet one’s own demand for them. To this end, one must exploit
the natural resourees of one’s eountry to the maximum and
utilize them rationally and, at the same time, develop the
industry to be a Juehe-oriented one whieh relies on domestie
raw materials and fuel from the outset.
Building an independent national eeonomy on the prineiple
of self-relianee does not mean building an eeonomy in
isolation. An independent eeonomy is opposed to foreign
eeonomie domination and subjugation; but it does not rule out
international eeonomie eooperation. Close eeonomie and
teehnieal eooperation between soeialist eountries and newly-
emerging nations, in partieular, plays an important part in
ensuring eeonomie self-suffieieney in these eountries and in
inereasing their eeonomie power.
Today, the peoples of newly-emerging eountries are
47
struggling against the US and other imperialists’ poliey of
aggression and plunder, in defence of their national sovereignty
and natural resources, and in order to put an end to the old
economic order by which a few capitalist powers have
exploited and plundered at will the majority of the countries
and peoples throughout the world, and to establish a new fair
world economic order. The newly-emerging countries have
inexhaustible manpower resources and natural wealth and huge
economic potentialities. They also have a good deal of valuable
experience and techniques which can be shared and exchanged.
If they strengthen economic and technical cooperation and
vigorously struggle with their forces united, the newly-
emerging countries and peoples will be able to thwart the
imperialist policy of aggression and plunder, uphold their
national dignity and right to survival, and achieve economic
self-sufficiency and prosperity in a short period without
depending on great powers.
The important task confronting us today in building the
socialist independent national economy is to accelerate the
Juche-orientation, modernization and scientization of the
national economy.
As the leader said explicitly, the Juche-orientation,
modernization and scientization of the national economy
constitute the strategic line that must be consistently followed
in economic construction for socialism and communism. By
pushing forward the Juche-orientation, modernization and
scientization of the national economy, holding on fast to the
line of building the independent national economy, we must
further strengthen the independence and Juche character of the
national economy, continue to modernize technical equipment
and put all productive and management activities completely on
a scientific basis.
48
(4) Self-Reliance in Defence
Self-reliance in defence is a fundamental principle of an
independent sovereign state. A state without self-reliant armed
forces capable of defending the country from the enemies at
home and abroad when imperialism exists cannot, in fact, be
called a completely independent sovereign state.
Imperialism is a constant cause of war, and the main force
of aggression and war today is US imperialism.
As the leader said, we do not want war, nor are we afraid of
it, nor do we beg peace from the imperialists. The best way to
preserve national independence and peace and win the
revolutionary cause is to counter the imperialist war of
aggression with the war of liberation, answer the
counterrevolutionary violence of reaction with revolutionary
violence, and always meet the imperialist moves of aggression
and war in full preparedness.
For this purpose, we must implement the principle of self-
reliance in defence.
Self-reliant defence is a military guarantee for a nation’s
political independence and economic self-sufficiency. Only
when one implements the principle of self-reliant defence, will
one be able to repel imperialist aggression and intervention,
defend the nation’s political independence and economic self-
sufficiency and safeguard the revolutionary achievements and
the security of the people.
Implementing the principle of self-reliant defence means
defending one’s country by one’s own efforts. Of course, one
may receive aid in national defence from fraternal countries and
friends. But it is impossible to depend on others for the defence
of one’s own country. In any case, the main thing is one’s own
49
strength. Only when one is strong, will foreign aid prove
effective. In national defence, therefore, one should rely on the
efforts of one’s own people and one’s own defence capability
before anything else. Defence work, too, is an undertaking for
the people and of the people themselves. If all the people
participate in unison in the national-liberation struggle and in
the defence of the country, under the leadership of the
revolutionary party, they will be able to repel all imperialist
aggressors and safeguard national independence and
revolutionary achievements.
In order to implement the principle of self-reliant defence,
one must have armed forces capable of defending one’s
country.
Such armed forces must embrace the sons and daughters of
the working people. An army whose men and commanding
officers come from among the workers, peasants and other
working people, can guarantee unity between the army and the
people, and between superiors and subordinates, and become a
truly self-reliant people’s army which safeguards national
independence and revolutionary achievements and serves the
people.
If the principle of self-reliant defence is to be implemented,
a defence system involving all the people and the whole
country must be established.
The establishment of such a defence system requires that
the whole of the army must be turned into a cadre army and
modernized. Only when the whole army is a cadre army, will it
become strong and provide the necessary force of commanders
and multiply its strength in case of need. And a modernized
army which blends its politico-ideological superiority with
modem technology will become a really unconquerable
revolutionary army.
50
In order to set up an all-people, all-nation defenee system, it
is also neeessary to arm all the people and fortify the whole
eountry. When all the people are under arms and the whole
eountry beeomes a fortress, all the people ean be mobilized to
emsh the enemy as soon as it eomes in to attack from any
quarter, and defend the country from imperialist aggression
with credit.
If the principle of self-reliant defence is to be implemented,
the politico-ideological superiority of the people’s armed forces
should be utilized to the maximum.
The decisive factor for victory in war does not consist in
weapons or techniques, but in the high political enthusiasm and
revolutionary devotion of the army and popular masses who are
conscious of the justice of their cause. A noble revolutionary
spirit to fight for the freedom and liberation of the people,
boundless loyalty to the party and the leader, a peerless self-
sacrificing spirit and mass heroism which are expressed in
willingly giving up one’s youth and life for the sake of the
country and revolution, revolutionary comradeship between
men and officers, their inseparable links with the people, and
voluntary military discipline-these are politico-ideological
superiority peculiar to a people’s army, a revolutionary army.
As the history of revolutionary wars shows, a revolutionary
army which is in firm politico-ideological readiness, though
armed with inferior weapons, can fight and defeat an enemy
equipped with the latest arms. Indeed, politico-ideological
superiority is the essential merit of revolutionary armed forces
and the source of their invincibility.
It is imperative, therefore, to knit the army closely from a
politico-ideological point of view and steadily raise its politico-
ideological level and ensure that imperialist armies of
aggression are defeated by the strength of the politico-
51
ideological superiority of the revolutionary people’s armed
forces.
The principle of self-reliant defence, to be implemented,
requires that one must build one’s own defence industry.
A national defence industry is a material guarantee for self-
reliant armed forces. Particularly at this time when the US and
other imperialists are viciously manoeuvring to subjugate other
countries by offering arms as a bait, and plundering other
peoples’ resources and making huge profits through arms deal,
the newly-independent countries should build their own
defence industries. This is of tremendous significance. True, it
would be difficult for small countries to produce all the arms
they need. But it would be inadvisable to depend totally on
others for the arms. They should build and develop their own
defence industries so that they can produce whatever is within
their power.
In order to implement the principle of self-reliant defence, it
is essential to consolidate the home front.
As the leader instructed, victory or defeat in modem war
depends largely on whether or not manpower and material
resources necessary for the war effort are ensured for a long
period. If a nation is to be ready to cope with war, they must
build up major strategic zones, store up necessary material
reserves, and make full preparations from the peacetime so as
to continue with production even in the case of a contingency.
Upholding the policy of building the economy and defence
simultaneously, our Party has made good preparations both
militarily and materially and built up both the front-line areas
and home front to cope with war.
We will continue to fully implement the policy of self-
reliant defence, and thus further strengthen our self-reliant
armed forces to be invincible, fight back any enemy aggression
52
and defend the eountry and revolutionary aehievements
faithfully.
2) THE CREATIVE METHOD SHOULD
BE APPLIED
If we are to earry out the revolution and eonstruetion as
required by the Juehe idea, we should apply the ereative
method both in mapping out the poliey, strategy and taeties of
the revolution and in implementing them.
To apply the ereative method to solve all problems arising
in the revolution and eonstruetion in eonformity with the aetual
eonditions by relying on the ereativity of the people-this is the
prineiple one should always strietly adhere to in the
revolutionary movement.
(1) The Method of Depending
on the Popnlar Masses
The sueeess of the revolution and eonstruetion depends,
after all, on how the ereative efforts of the popular masses are
utilized.
Sinee the masses are the deeisive foree that propels the
revolution and eonstmetion, one ean sueeessfully solve any
diffieult problem and energetieally speed up the revolution and
eonstruetion only when one relies on them.
If we are to sueeessfully earry out the revolution and
eonstruetion by depending on the masses, we should map out a
eorreet poliey refleeting their demands and aspirations and
make it their own.
The masses of the people know the reality better than
53
anybody else and have a wealth of experienee. Only when the
will and demands of the broad masses are integrated in a poliey
one is working out, ean the poliey be eorreet, eonform with
their aspirations and interests, win their hearty support and
inspire them to the struggle. Should one fail to refleet the will
of the masses eorreetly, one would eommit a subjeetive error in
guiding the revolution and eonstruetion. Then, one would be
unable to enlist their ereativity.
One must not only formulate a poliey mirroring the will and
aspirations of the masses but should also bring it home to the
masses so as to make it their own.
All the polieies of the party are implemented and realized
by the popular masses in the long run. When they are
aequainted with the eorreetness of party poliey and the proper
method to implement it, they will aeeept it as vital to them and
demonstrate a high degree of enthusiasm and initiative for its
fulfilment. If the poliey is not grasped by the masses, it will not
produee great effeet in life.
In order to earry out the revolution and eonstruetion by
drawing on the ereative power of the people, it is neeessary to
unite them into a single politieal foree.
The strength of the masses lies in unity. When they are
firmly united, they will demonstrate really amazing power in
the revolutionary struggle and eonstruetion work.
If the masses are to be united firmly, it is neeessary to
properly eombine the elass line and mass line.
Only when the mass line is eorreetly earried out while
firmly adhering to the elass prineiple, will it be possible to
isolate eompletely the hostile elements and build up the elass
position, and edueate and transform all seetions of the masses
to unite them and give full seope to their ereativity in the
revolution and eonstruetion. If under soeialism the elass
54
struggle and the work of strengthening the people’s unity and
solidarity are not combined properly and Rightist and “Leftist”
deviations are allowed to develop, it will weaken the unity of
the masses, paralyze their revolutionary zeal and creative power
and inflict a great loss to the revolution and construction.
If the creative power of the masses is to be brought into
play, a struggle must be waged against all outdated things that
hamper innovations. In particular, it is important to wage an
active struggle against passivism and conservatism. This is the
only way to give full play to the creative power of the masses
and bring about continuous innovations and upsurge in the
revolution and construction.
Widespread mass movements should be launched in the
revolution and construction.
Mass movements are a creative way to strengthen the unity
and cooperation of the working masses and give rein to their
inexhaustible strength. They are a revolutionary method to
expedite the building of socialism and communism through
mass struggle and collective innovations. One can successfully
solve any difficult problem if one fights off all elements
standing in the way of mass movements, brings the
consciousness and initiative of the masses into full play and
organizes and steadily develops mass struggle.
What is important in carrying out the revolution and
construchon by enlisting the creativity of broad masses is to
establish a revolutionary method of work. Even if one has a correct
policy, one would neither be able to properly mobilize the masses
in its implementation nor carry out the revolution and construction
successfully, without a revolutionary method of work.
The leader created the revolutionary work method of
communists, the Juche method of work, as far back as in the
days of the anti-Japanese revolutionary struggle.
55
The Juche work method enables the masses of the people
to maintain the stand of master of the revolution and
eonstruetion and fully play their role as sueh. This work
method is a revolutionary and eommunist work method. It
enables one always to go among the masses to aequire a
profound understanding of the aetual situation and to find
eorreet solutions to the problems; it makes it possible for the
higher ranks to substantially help the lower units, give
preeedenee to politieal work in all work to get the masses to
fulfil the revolutionary tasks of their own aeeord, and solve
without formality all problems ereatively in a way whieh is
suitable to the speeifie features and eireumstanees. This
method of work always enables one to share life and death
and ups and downs with the masses, stand at their head, set
an example and be modest, simple and generous and lead the
masses into fully demonstrating their ereative initiative.
This Juehe work method is fundamentally opposed to the
method of moving people by offering money or using foree,
or the administrative work method, the method of eommand.
The working-elass party should always hold fast to the
revolutionary work method both before and after the
takeover of power and in the revolutionary struggle and
eonstruetion work. In partieular, following the takeover of
power, it must steadily improve and perfeet the work method
in eonformity with the developing reality. Only then would
it be possible to exploit fully the revolutionary zeal and
ereative aetivity of the masses and vigorously push ahead
with soeialist and eommunist eonstruetion. Then it would
also be possible to eliminate bureaueratie and administrative
tendeneies whieh are liable to appear in a government party.
That the working-elass party adheres to the revolutionary
work method of relying on the masses and enlisting their
56
creativity, is an important question of principle in the
revolution and construction.
We must thoroughly apply the revolutionary work
method created by the leader, the great leader’s work
method, and thus give full play to the creativity of the
masses to accelerate the revolution and construction.
(2) Methods Suitable to the Actual Situatiou
The revolutionary movement demands solving all
problems in conformity with the changes and development
in the reality and the specific conditions of the country.
The revolutionary struggle for socialism and communism
is waged in different conditions of the time and the concrete
circumstances of each country. There is no formula for the
revolution and construction that is suitable to all eras and all
countries. Therefore, one must always proceed from the
actual situation and creatively solve all problems in
conformity with it.
If one is to wage the revolutionary struggle in the way
which is suitable to one’s own actual situation, one must
correctly assess the subjective and objective conditions of
the revolution in one’s own country and define the line,
strategy and tactics in accordance with them. Should one fail
to take into good account these conditions, one would fall
into subjectivism in mapping out the policy and would
inflict a great loss to the revolution and construction.
In the revolutionary struggle greater importance should
be attached to the internal factor and the political and
ideological factor. One can promote the revolution as one
desires when the internal forces are prepared and the
masses’ level of ideology is high, although other conditions
57
are unfavourable. In defining the poliey and methods of the
revolution, one must regard the internal factor and the
political and ideological factor as the main factors and
strengthen them to energetically develop the revolution.
If one is to carry out the revolutionary struggle and
construction work in accordance with one’s actual
conditions, one must take a correct attitude towards the
established theories.
As the leader instructed, with regard to the propositions
or formulas of the established theories one must apply them
to conform to one’s specific conditions and peculiarities
after taking into consideration the demands of the time they
reflect and the premises they are based on. A theory that
does not conform with the specific revolutionary practice is
useless. In the guidance of the revolutionary struggle and
construction work, the starting point is not the propositions
or formulas of the established theories but the actual
realities. The point is not whether something conforms with
the established theories but whether it conforms with the
demands and interests of the masses and the subjective and
objective conditions of a given period. If something should
meet the demands and interests of the popular masses and
the subjective and objective conditions, one would not need
to stick to the existing propositions or formulas.
In order to correctly carry out the revolutionary struggle,
one must actively inquire into new principles and methods
of the revolution and construction which are suitable to the
historical conditions of the time and one’s concrete
situation.
Inquiring into new revolutionary principles and ways to
meet the demands of the actual conditions is very urgent in
our time. In our era, the revolution and construction are
58
being intensified and developed as never before and many
new theoretieal and practieal problems are arising. This
demands that the guiding theory, strategy and tactics of the
revolution be mapped out in a way which is suitable to the
present conditions and that the revolutionary theory of the
working class be further developed in a creative way.
The theoretical activities of our Party that has originally
clarified revolutionary principles and ways to meet the
demands raised by the revolutionary practice of our time,
constitute a brilliant example in adhering to the
revolutionary principles of Marxism-Leninism and
developing the revolutionary theory of the working class
onto a new, higher plane.
A critical and creative approach to foreign experiences is
important in the revolution and construction.
Such experiences always reflect the socio-historical
conditions and the national peculiarities of a particular
country. Some of them are necessary and beneficial to one’s
country and suitable to one’s actual conditions but others are
not. One must accept what is beneficial to one and reject
what is not. In accepting the good experiences of others, one
must not swallow them raw but adhere to the stand of
changing and modifying them to suit one’s actual
conditions.
Though one had better refer to the experiences of others,
one must make effective use of one’s own experiences as far
as possible.
It is wrong both to try to copy others blindly and to
refuse to learn with an open mind from the good experiences
of others. The question is what should be one’s attitude
towards the experiences of others. We are opposed to the
dogmatic attitude of unconditionally worshipping the
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experiences of others without demonstrating a creative spirit
and mechanically imitating even that which is not suitable to
one’s actual conditions. This attitude renders it impossible to
map out a correct policy conforming to the revolutionary
requirements of one’s own country and the aspirations of
one’s own people. In the long run, it would make it
impossible to carry out the revolution and construction
satisfactorily.
To apply the creative spirit in solving all problems in
conformity with one’s own situation is a scientific and
revolutionary method that makes it possible to reject
flunkeyism and dogmatism and successfully carry out the
revolution and construction.
3) THE MAIN STRESS SHOULD BE PLACED
ON IDEOLOGY
The popular masses’ consciousness of independence
plays a decisive role in the revolutionary movement.
Therefore, in the revolution and construction one must place
the main stress on ideology and give priority over all work
to the remoulding of ideology, the political work, which is
aimed at raising the consciousness and activeness of the
masses.
(I) Giving Priority to Ideological Remoulding
Ideological remoulding is an important task to transform
people into genuine men of a communist type.
The leader put forward the task of revolutionizing,
working-classizing and intellectualizing all members of
60
society and thus transforming them into communist men of a
Juche type, as a major revolutionary task in modelling the
whole society on the Juche idea.
In order to build socialism and communism we must not
only develop the productive forces and change the social
relations but also transform people themselves into
comprehensively developed communist men. No matter how
highly the productive forces have been developed and how
great the material wealth is, one could not claim to have
built a communist society unless people, the masters of
society, are transformed into men of a communist type.
If we are to train people to be harmoniously developed
communists, independent and creative men, we must equip
them with communist ideology and advanced scientific and
technical knowledge and help them to acquire a high cultural
level.
In particular, primary attention should be directed to the
task of arming people with communist ideology.
The transforming of man in essence means ideological
remoulding. Thoughts define men’s worth and quality and,
accordingly, ideological remodelling is of the utmost
importance in the transformation of man.
Ideological remoulding is more difficult than the change
of people’s conditions of material life or the enhancement of
their cultural and technical standards. Man’s ideology
depends on his socio-economic position and the conditions
of material life. However, it does not change of its own
accord with the change of his socio-economic position and
the material conditions of social life. The remnants of
outdated ideology are very conservative and tenacious.
Ideological remoulding is a complex and protracted task. It
can be successful only through a vigorous struggle.
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The remoulding of man’s ideology is a far-reaehing
revolution. It is a struggle to eliminate the remnants of the
old soeiety in the sphere of man’s ideology for good and arm
all the working people with the progressive idea of the
working elass, the eommunist idea. It eonstitutes the basie
form of elass struggle in soeialist soeiety where the
exploiting elasses have been liquidated. In order to remodel
people in a eommunist way, even after the establishment of
a soeialist system we must fight against the penetration of
reaetionary ideology and eulture by the imperialists and, at
the same time, eontinue to earry out the ideologieal
revolution to eliminate the remnants of obsolete ideology
persisting in the minds of the people and equip them with a
new, eommunist ideology.
The main thing in ideologieal remoulding is the
establishment of a revolutionary world outlook, the outlook
on the revolution.
If people are to be transformed into ardent eommunist
revolutionaries who fight devotedly for the eause of
soeialism and eommunism, they should aequire a eorreet
outlook on the revolution. What an attitude one takes
towards the revolution and how aetive one is in the
revolution depends, after all, on one’s outlook on the
revolution.
The outlook on the revolution our Party members and
working people should possess is the Juehe outlook on the
revolution. The Juehe outlook on the revolution is the
viewpoint and attitude to the revolution whieh plaee the
popular masses in the eentre; it is a revolutionary spirit to
fight vigorously for the masses.
The eore in the Juehe outlook on the revolution is loyalty
to the party and the leader. The eause of soeialism and
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communism is started by the leader and is carried out under
the guidance of the party and the leader. The revolutionary
movement will be victorious only when it follows the
guidance of the party and the leader. Therefore, to establish
a correct outlook on the revolution, one must always put the
main emphasis on increasing loyalty to the party and the
leader.
To acquire a correct revolutionary outlook one must
firmly equip oneself with revolutionary ideology and theory.
This alone would enable one to correctly understand the
laws of revolutionary development, have confidence in the
prospect of the revolution and struggle to the end in any
adverse condition without vacillation and hesitation.
To establish a correct outlook on the revolution, one
must have communist revolutionary spirit. This spirit is an
infinite devotion to give one’s all for the party and the
leader, the working class and the people, burning hatred for
the enemy of the revolution and an indomitable
revolutionary spirit to resolutely fight to the end without the
slightest vacillation in any adverse condition, true to one’s
revolutionary principles. It is a revolutionary spirit of self-
reliance to solve all problems by one’s own initiative,
braving the difficulties standing in the way of advance, and a
strong sense of organization and discipline to hold most
dearly the revolutionary organization and voluntarily
observe the rules of the organization. One can be a genuine
revolutionary only when one has such a spirit.
When one has made the revolutionary ideas and theories
one’s conviction and acquired a strong communist
revolutionary spirit, one can say that one has acquired a
correct outlook on the revolution.
Whether one has a correct outlook on the revolution or
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not is proved by revolutionary practiee. The revolutionary
practice is a powerful means of ideological remoulding and
a criterion which can be used to prove man’s ideology.
Without practice and action it is impossible to appraise and
prove man’s ideology. The revolutionary practice of
communists is nothing less than a struggle to implement the
revolutionary idea of the leader and party policy. A man
who upholds the revolutionary idea of the leader and
dedicates his all to the struggle to carry out party policy is a
genuine communist revolutionary with a correct outlook on
the revolution.
Whether one has a correct outlook on the revolution or
not is revealed particularly at a time of severe trials. People
reveal their true nature in adverse circumstances. He who is
determined to be infinitely faithful to the party and the
leader even if he would have to give up his life and who
remains loyal to his revolutionary principles on the scaffold,
is a true revolutionary with a firm Juche outlook on the
revolution.
If one is to be a communist revolutionary with a right
outlook on the revolution, one must intensify revolutionary
studying.
Studying is the basic means to equip oneself with
revolutionary ideas, theories, strategy and tactics. Without
studying one would not be able to comprehend the truth of
revolutionary struggle nor have a high level of class
viewpoint and revolutionary vision. A revolutionary must
always regard studying as his first and foremost duty and
continue to do it all his life. Studying is not merely aimed to
acquire theory and knowledge. The revolutionary theory and
knowledge one has learned through studying must be turned
into one’s conviction.
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In order to become a communist revolutionary with a
correct outlook on the revolution, one must lead a faithful
revolutionary organizational life.
Organizational life is a revolutionary mode of life
stemming from the essential nature of the communist
movement and a school for revolutionary training. Without
this life, people would be unable to become revolutionaries
nor preserve political integrity. One’s physical life is
inherited from his parents, but one’s political life is obtained
and developed through organizational life.
Revolutionary organizational life must always be
conducted amidst a strong ideological struggle. Only when
an ideological struggle is conducted vigorously along with
ideological education, can people be awakened and trained
politically and develop their ideological and moral qualities
as a revolutionary to perfection. The working-class party
should always hold fast to the revolutionary organizational
life and train people to be ardent communists in the crucible
of ideological struggle.
In order to become a communist revolutionary with a
proper revolutionary outlook, one must train oneself in the
revolutionary practice.
The revolutionary is hardened ideologically and in will
power and acquires the revolutionary qualities and traits in
the course of the revolutionary practice. Class struggle is the
most acute revolutionary struggle. In the course of class
struggle people heighten their class consciousness, become
able to correctly tell friend from foe and acquire an
uncompromising fighting spirit against class enemies. The
struggle for socialist economic construction is also an
important revolutionary struggle. Active participation in the
struggle for production and construction is the only way to
65
acquire confidence in the justice and victory of the cause of
socialism and communism as well as genuinely
revolutionary spirit and traits of the working class.
Through revolutionary study and organizational life and
through revolutionary practice we should train the Party
members and working people to become Juche-inspired
communist revolutionaries with a firm Juche outlook on the
revolution and genuine revolutionary fighters who will fight
with devotion for the consummation of the Juche
revolutionary cause started by the leader.
(2) Giving Precedence to Political Work
For a successful implementation of the revolutionary tasks,
political work aimed at educating and rousing the people into
action, should be given priority over all other work.
Since the revolution and construction are carried out by
the people, success in the revolutionary struggle and in
building socialism and communism depends, after all, on the
work among the people. Work among the people is, in
essence, a political work and work to enhance their
ideology. Giving precedence to political work, the work
among people, means equipping the popular masses with
party policy and arousing their revolutionary zeal before all
other work so that the masses themselves will demonstrate a
high degree of consciousness and activity to carry out the
revolutionary struggle and construction work successfully.
By its nature, the revolution is a voluntary struggle. One
stages a revolution neither on orders from others nor to
obtain some remuneration; one is motivated to stage a
revolution by one’s own political belief and self-
consciousness. Therefore, the principle that should be
66
consistently adhered to in the revolutionary struggle is to
give priority to political work to heighten the consciousness
and activity of the people.
Giving precedence to political work is a demand arising
from the essential nature of the socialist system. Unlike in a
capitalist society where the popular masses are exploited and
oppressed, in a socialist society where the masses are
masters of everything, it is essential to rely on their high
political consciousness and revolutionary enthusiasm. Only
when political work is given priority to enhance the working
people’s conscious zeal as masters of the revolution, will it
be possible to give full play to the superiority of the socialist
system and vigorously promote socialist construction.
Giving precedence to political work does not imply
neglecting administrative and business affairs or technical
and economic work.
As the leader instructed, administrative and business
affairs and technical and economic work should be correctly
combined with political work while giving precedence to the
latter. The building of socialism and communism is a highly
organized undertaking which involves the whole society and
is conducted in a planned manner. This is complex work
which is based on modern science and technology.
Meticulous administrative and organizational work and
scientific, technical and economic work are indispensable
for the building of socialism and communism. And yet, these
will be successful only when priority is given to political
work. No revolutionary task could be successful if one
should neglect political work and get himself involved only
in technical and economic business.
In order to mobilize the masses to socialist construction
successfully, we should place our main emphasis on political
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and moral incentive and correctly combine this with material
incentive.
The essential feature of socialist society lies in its
communist character. The political and moral incentive is
derived from the communist character of socialist society
and is aimed at strengthening it. As a matter of fact, socialist
society is of a transitional character. Therefore, the socialist
principle of distribution according to the quality and
quantity of work done should be enforced in this society,
and the material incentive should not be ignored. However,
neglecting the political and moral incentive and placing the
main emphasis on the material incentive runs counter to the
essential character of socialist society. This is a very
dangerous and harmful tendency. It fosters selfishness
among the working people and makes them mercenary and
acquisitive. In the final analysis, it undermines the socialist
system and the revolutionary achievements. Under socialism
the political and moral incentive should be the first
precedence in all circumstances. The essential superiority of
the socialist system lies in the fact that the popular masses,
who have become the masters of everything, consciously
work in firm unity for the country and the people, for the
society and the collective. Only when the main stress is
placed on the political and moral incentive, will it be
possible to stimulate the masses into demonstrating
conscious enthusiasm in work with a correct position and
attitude as befit the masters of the country and the
revolution.
Political work should be done through persuasion and
education. This is work among people, work to rouse their
ideology. The bureaucratic method expressed in giving
orders and shouting commands can never rouse the
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conscious zeal of people. Only persuasion and education
aimed at reasoning with and admonishing people will be
able to equip them with revolutionary ideas, give full play to
their revolutionary zeal and inexhaustible creative power
and forge closer links between the party and the masses.
Political work should be done in an original way by
applying various forms and methods. This is creative work
which is conducted under different conditions and
circumstances; it is work among the people at different
levels and with different characteristics. Therefore, there
cannot be a uniform formula or a set pattern in this work. It
must be done in a way which is suitable to the actual
situation with diverse forms and methods and in an effective
and positive way.
Political work must be conducted in such a way that the
masses regard it as their own affairs. Since it is work to
educate and rouse broad sections of the masses into action, it
cannot be done with the efforts of only a few people. As a
matter of principle, all revolutionaries should be political
workers and educators and organizers of the masses.
As the leader explained, the method of one person
rousing ten persons into action, ten a hundred and a hundred
a thousand through education, is a superior method in
enlisting many people in political work and turning it into a
struggle which concerns the masses themselves.
Political work must be closely combined with revolutionary
practice. The major objective of this work is to implement the
revolutionary tasks successfully. Success in this work must find
expression in the actual result of the revolution and
construction and must be appraised by it. Political work which
is alien to the revolutionary tasks and which is not helpful to
the revolution and construction is futile.
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We should continue to adhere strictly to the principle of
giving priority to political work, whose correctness and
vitality have been proved by the revolutionary practice, and
thus build socialism and communism faster and better.
5. THE HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE
OF THE JUCHE IDEA
The Juche idea is exerting a great influence on the
ideological life of humanity and on the revolutionary
changes of the world. It is gaining strong sympathy from
people all over the world and giving a powerful impetus to
the contemporary historic movement which is aspiring to
independence.
The Juche idea has become an accepted contemporary
thought, and its attraction and importance in affecting
changes increase with the progress of history.
It gives us a genuinely revolutionary world outlook of
our time, the Juche age. This constitutes a major historic
contribution made by the Juche idea to the development of
humanity’s thinking and to the cause of liberation of
mankind.
People’s notions of the world and their views on and
approach towards it have developed down through long
history.
The history of the world outlook was a history of
struggle between two conflicting philosophical currents, that
is, between materialism and idealism, between dialectics and
metaphysics. In this struggle Marxism signalled the victory
70
of materialism and dialectics. The emergence of the Marxist
materialistic dialectical world outlook was a reflection of the
contemporary requirements. The appearance of the working
class on the arena of history ushered in a new era in human
history. The new historical conditions under which the
revolution against capital had started, urgently demanded a
revolutionary idea which would bring home the inevitability
of the downfall of capitalism and the triumph of socialism to
the working class who had risen up in struggle. The most
important question in this was to vanquish the idealism and
metaphysics which had sanctified the domination of
reactionary capital and preached its eternity, and to elaborate
a scientific world outlook of the working class. The
materialistic dialectical world outlook came into being as a
reflection of this requirement of the times.
The progress of the times is accompanied by the
development of the world outlook. The steady expansion and
development of the revolution which started with the
emergence of the working class, gave birth to a new age
when the working masses who had so far been the object of
history appeared as its masters. The new age that witnessed
the appearance of the working class and other working
masses as a great force controlling the world, demanded the
evolvement of a new world outlook which would enable
them to become masters of their own destiny, shaping it in
an independent and creative way, and to realize successfully
the historic cause of national liberation, class emancipation
and human freedom. This historic task was brilliantly
accomplished with the evolution of the Juche idea.
The Juche idea which elucidates the world outlook of a
new age is fresh and unique in its philosophical principle
that forms its foundation.
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In the past the relations between substance and
consciousness, between being and thinking were regarded as
the basic question of philosophy. The Marxist materialistic
principle concerning the priority of substance and being
gave a scientific solution to this question.
Since the question of the world’s origin had been made
clear by the materialistic viewpoint, the Juche idea raised a
new problem concerning the position and role of man in the
world as the basic question of philosophy and gave an
answer to the question of who is the master of the world.
The philosophical principle of the Juche idea which
clarifies the position and role of man as master of the world
is based on a new elucidation of man.
The question on man had been also discussed a great deal
by preceding philosophies, but it was confined mostly to
abstract views on pure man, to the exclusion of social
relations. The question of man’s substance in social relations
was raised and made clear by Marxism.
Considering man in social relations the Juche idea cast a
new light on his essential features. It expounded that man is
a social being with independence, creativity and
consciousness, and thus gave a perfect philosophical
elucidation of man. The clarification by the Juche idea of the
philosophical principle that man is the master of everything
and decides everything, on the basis of the scientific
explanation of man as a social being, was a philosophical
discovery which brought about a new change in the world
outlook.
The idea that man is the master of everything and decides
everything, in other words, the idea that man is the master of
the world and his own destiny and is the transformer of the
world and the shaper of his destiny, is fundamentally
72
opposed to idealism and metaphysies. Idealism leads to
mystieal theory that the world and man’s destiny are
eontrolled by the supernatural “might,” while metaphysies
leads to the fatalistie belief that everything in the world is
immutable and, aeeordingly, man must be obedient to his
predetermined destiny. The idea that man is the master of
the world and his own destiny and is able to transform the
world and shape his destiny, is based on the premise of the
materialistie and dialeetieal viewpoint whieh denies
mystieism and fatalism.
The Juehe idea uniquely defined the domination of the
world by man who is the highest-developed produet in the
material world, as well as the prineiples of its transformation
and progress, thus shedding a new light on the foundation of
the world outlook. The world outlook based on the
philosophieal prineiple of Juehe is a world outlook whieh is
eentred on man.
There have been various types of world outlook in
history, but there was none that elearly indieated the
viewpoint and stand on the world plaeing man at the eentre.
Even the materialists who in the past had regarded the world
as a material objeet, to say nothing of the idealists who
eonsidered it as a world of ideas or spirit, eould not put
forward the viewpoint and approaeh towards the world with
man at the eentre.
The Juehe idea defined man as the master who dominates
the world, not merely as part of it, and thus established a
new world outlook whieh, unlike preeeding ones, regards the
world and its ehanges and progress with man, its master, at
the eentre. The Juehe viewpoint and stand on the world with
man in the eentral plaee provide a sure guarantee for the
independent and ereative eognitional aetivities and praetiee
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of man who transforms the world and shapes his destiny.
The Juehe idea whieh clearly showed the man-centred
viewpoint and stand towards the world provided a new view
of social history. In the years prior to Marxism, even those
who had advocated materialism or dialectics adhered to the
idealistic stand towards social history. Marxism made it
clear that, like nature, society belongs to the material world
and changes and develops in accordance with the general
laws that govern the development of this world. In this way
it disproved the idealistic view on social history.
While admitting the general laws of the progress of the
material world which affect social history, the Juehe idea
expounded the laws which are peculiar to social history.
Therein lies a great service the Juehe idea rendered in
perfecting the working-class outlook on social history.
The principle of social history that the subject of history
is the masses of the people, that socio-historical movements
are their independent and creative movements and that their
consciousness of independence plays the decisive role in the
revolutionary struggle, forms the basic content of the Juche-
based view of history. This provides a new elucidation on
the essence, character and motive force of socio-historical
movement, the movement of the subject.
The Juehe idea established the new viewpoint and stand
which see historical development and social revolution with
the popular masses, the subject, at the centre.
The Juehe idea which clearly indicated the man-centred
world outlook and the view of social history brought about a
great change in the development of world outlook. The
revolutionary world outlook of the working class had been
established by Marxism for the first time, and it was developed
by the Juehe idea onto a new, higher plane for its perfection.
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The Juche idea, the revolutionary world outlook
representing a new era in history, the Juehe age, is rightly
leading the onward movement of mankind aspiring to
independenee and sovereignty, soeialism and eommunism,
while sweeping away all the reaetionary and
eounterrevolutionary eurrents of thoughts.
It marked a new, higher stage in the development of the
working-elass revolutionary theory. Therein lies another
historie eontribution of the Juehe idea to the revolutionary
eause of the working elass and the eause of liberation of
humanity.
An age had passed and the revolutionary movement had
gone a long way sinee the birth of the revolutionary theory
of the working elass. Revolutionary praetiee in the new era
demanded that the revolutionary theory be developed in a
way whieh was suitable to new historie eonditions. The
Juehe idea propounded the basie prineiple of revolution that
the masses of the people are masters and the motive foree of
the revolution and eonstruetion and, on this basis, rendered
it possible to evolve new revolutionary theories required by
our time.
The Juehe idea is the sound basis on whieh to develop
the revolutionary theory of the Juehe age. Developing
revolutionary theory on the basis of this idea means
expounding the prineiples and laws of revolutionary
movements with the working masses, the masters of
revolution and eonstruetion, at the eentre.
Developing a revolutionary theory with the working people
at the eentre is a requirement of revolutionary movements in
the Juehe age. In our time when the working masses have
established themselves as the masters of the world and when
revolutionary struggles are being waged with a far-reaehing
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scope on the strength of their consciousness of independence
and creativeness, the principles and laws of revolutionary
movements can be elucidated correctly only by developing a
revolutionary theory with the working people at the centre. By
this method the Juche idea has made it possible to fully
elaborate on the revolutionary theory aimed at realizing
independence for the working masses; and it has consummated
the revolutionary theories of the working class to include those
on national liberation, class emancipation and human freedom,
and to be a perfect communist theory of social and natural
transformation and human remoulding.
Placing the working masses at the centre in the
development of a revolutionary theory is a sure guarantee
for evolving the revolutionary theory and strategy and
tactics in accordance with the true characteristic of the
revolutionary movement.
Every revolutionary movement is an undertaking for and
by the working people. Therefore, a revolutionary theory
and strategy and tactics should naturally champion their
interests and enhance their role. It can be said that the value
of a theory depends on how well it advocates the interests of
the popular masses, and that the effectiveness of strategy
and tactics depends on how well they enhance the role of the
masses. By basing itself on the independence, creativity and
consciousness of the masses, the Juche idea made it possible
to evolve the theory, strategy and tactics which would
champion their basic interests and provide the proper way to
give rein to their high revolutionary zeal and inexhaustible
creativeness. This is how the revolutionary theory of the
working class has become most powerful and able to
champion the interests of the working masses thoroughly
and enhance their role to the utmost.
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The Juche idea serves as a guideline whieh shows a
eorreet approaeh to the preeeding revolutionary theories.
These working-elass theories were advaneed on the premise
of the eonditions and tasks of the past times whieh were
different from today, but they have a eommunity of elass
idea and mission with the revolutionary theory based on the
Juehe idea. By laying down the prineiple of ereatively
approaehing the existing theories and experienees, the Juehe
idea makes it possible to apply and develop the preeeding
revolutionary theories to suit the requirements of
revolutionary praetiee in our time. In partieular, it maintains
the position of firmly defending and realizing the
independenee of the working elass and other working
masses, and thus makes it possible to aeeurately identify and
eliminate all kinds of opportunism, ineluding revisionism
whieh gives up the eause of revolution halfway or denies
elass struggle, and uphold the elass prineiple and the spirit
of uninterrupted revolution in the revolutionary theories of
the working elass.
The Juehe revolutionary theory is the genuinely
revolutionary theory of the working elass in the Juehe era
and is the undying eommunist revolutionary theory whieh
will be ever-vietorious along with the struggle for the
independenee of the working masses.
A great idea gives rise to great praetiee. The great Juehe
idea whieh throws a new light on the philosophieal prineiple
and on the laws of soeio-historieal movement, the
revolutionary movement, and gives seientifie elueidation of
the guiding prineiples of revolution and eonstruetion, has
brought about a tremendous ehange in revolutionary
praetiee.
The Juehe idea has been brilliantly applied, above all, to
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the Korean revolution and has won a great victory.
The Korean revolution is guided by the Juche idea, and
all its victories would be inconceivable without this idea.
Under the banner of the Juche idea, the Korean revolution
could get rid of its birth-pains caused by flunkeyism and
dogmatism and has been able to triumphantly advance on the
arduous road of struggle, getting over various difficulties
and trials.
The Juche idea has led the revolution and construction
straight along the new road which had never been trodden by
others before. The Korean revolution has paved an
absolutely correct path for national liberation in a colony
and opened a short cut to socialism. It has created a best
socialist new life which the world’s people call a “model of
socialism,” and is successfully pioneering the untrodden
path to socialism and communism. Because the Juche idea
illuminates the way, we have been able to advance along the
shortest route and thus achieve in a brief period of time a
great victory in the struggle for independence, sovereignty
and socialism, a success which is amazing to the world.
The Juche idea has become a solemn reality in our
country. The history-making changes and great creations
worked out by our people are precious fruit of this idea.
Very proud and honoured by the brilliant victory and results
attained under the banner of the Juche idea, our people are
now struggling for the historic cause of transforming the
whole society in accordance with this idea.
Because it reflects the common aspiration of the world’s
people to independence, the Juche idea is exerting a great
influence on the contemporary revolutionary movements to
build a new world of independence.
It has opened up a new revolutionary road, a broad
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avenue along whieh to advance the revolution in an
independent and creative manner.
Our era, when the revolutionary movement is making
progress through diverse forms with the national state as one
unit, demands that the people of each country properly play
the role of masters with a high degree of awareness that they
are the masters of revolution. This is more urgent since there
is the influence of wrong ideologies such as worship of great
powers and dogmatism. By clearly showing how to stage a
revolution in an independent and creative manner, the Juche
idea has enabled the people of each country to have a strong
sense of responsibility as the masters of the revolution,
ridding themselves of the fetters of all outdated thoughts
hampering independent progress; and it has also helped them
to work out a policy which is suitable to the actual
conditions in their country, according to their own views and
belief, and to exploit their own creativeness to push ahead
with the revolution. The opening up of the way to stage a
revolution in an independent and creative manner has
encouraged the people in different conditions of history and
at different stages of development to carry on, confident of
victory, the vigorous struggle to achieve national liberation
and class emancipation and build socialism and communism.
The Juche idea has paved a new road of the international
communist movement advancing on the basis of
independence, and has brought about a new era of progress
in international relations.
The communist movement is an independent movement
of the party and people in every country aimed at doing
away with all types of subjugation and inequality and
becoming the true masters of their destiny. So there should
be neither superior-subordinate relations nor master-servant
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relations in this movement. Independenee is the life and soul
for every eountry and people, and no relations of domination
and submission, order and obedienee eould be permitted
between them. The Juehe idea defined independenee as the
fundamental prineiple of the relations between parties and
between eountries, and thus helped towards a ehange in the
international eommunist movement and the development of
international relations. Today the prineiple of independenee
is displaying still greater vitality as a steadfast prineiple that
guarantees the international eommunist movement and
determines the relationship between the Communist and
Workers’ Parties. It also serves as a reeognized prineiple of
development of state relations among newly-independent
eountries and many eountries of the world with different
soeial systems and as a powerful weapon against the
imperialists who subjugate other nations and impose
inequality upon them.
Indeed, the Juehe idea is an immortal banner of struggle,
a banner of vietory, for the popular masses in their
endeavour to ereate a new world and shape their own
destiny.
* *
Our Party and people who have traversed the glorious
path of struggle and vietory over half a eentury following
the banner of the Juehe idea under the guidanee of the great
leader, should hold high this banner in future, too, and fight
on energetieally.
Our revolution has not as yet ended. We are still
eonfronted with eomplieated and diffieult revolutionary
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tasks. Only when we continue with our struggle upholding
the banner of the Juche idea, will we be able to overcome all
difficulties and trials, speed up national reunification and
achieve final victory in the cause of socialism and
communism.
We should equip ourselves more firmly with the Juche
idea and thoroughly implement the Party’s policies, its
embodiment, and thus successfully realize our Party’s
programme to model the whole society on the Juche idea.
If we are to model the whole society on the Juche idea
we should ensure that all Party members and working people
are firmly equipped with the Juche idea and staunchly fight
on anywhere, anytime along the road indicated by the Juche
idea.
Scientific and theoretical activities are intended to
perform an important role in equipping the Party members
and working people with the Juche idea and materializing it.
Giving priority to the study and dissemination of the
Juche idea is a precondition for equipping them firmly with
the Juche-oriented revolutionary world outlook and for fully
applying the Juche idea to the revolution and construction.
All scientists and theoreticians should keep in mind their
heavy responsibility and bring about a new upsurge in
studying and propagating the Juche idea.
In the social science sector they should make a profound
study of the Juche idea and the ideas and theories clarified
by it.
Social scientists should study the fundamentals and
guiding principles of the Juche idea, as well as all the ideas
and theories illuminated by it, in a comprehensive manner.
They should also make a profound study of the
achievements and experience our Party gained in the
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revolution and construction by applying the Juche idea.
Our social science should give correct, scientific and
theoretical solutions to the urgent problems arising in
revolutionary practice. Workers in this sector should
intensify the study of the Juche idea, with the main emphasis
being laid on the solution of these practical problems, so that
correct, scientific and theoretical solutions are provided for
all problems arising in the revolution and construction.
The Juche idea has opened up a wide vista for the
development of all spheres of social science on a new
foundation.
We should steadily intensify and improve scientific
research with the Juche idea as an ideological, theoretical
and methodological basis and thus enrich all branches of
social science with new results.
Education in the Juche idea should be intensified.
Our educational institutions are the seat for the education
in the Juche idea, and our school education should be
consistent with the Juche idea throughout.
All educational institutions should radically improve the
quality of education in the Juche idea. The students should
thus be trained to become personnel who have acquired a
basic outline of the Juche-based revolutionary world outlook
in their senior middle school days and who have been firmly
equipped with the Juche-based revolutionary world outlook
when they graduate from universities and colleges.
In particular, universities and colleges should intensify
the education of the Juche thought and theory. They should
properly combine the education to establish the world
outlook with the education to give specialized knowledge.
Social science faculties in universities and colleges should
help the students to acquire fully the revolutionary world
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outlook of Juche and, at the same time, training in their
specialties should be improved so as to produce good
experts firmly equipped with the Juche thought and theory.
We should intensify the studying of the Juche idea
among the cadres. Party members and working people.
The dissemination of information about Party theories is
work to acquaint them fully with the Juche thought and
theory.
The Juche idea is priceless ideological pabulum for
genuine Juche revolutionaries to maintain their political
integrity. In order to become such a revolutionary everyone
should profoundly study the Juche idea.
All leading officials. Party members and working people
should always study hard to acquire the Juche thought and
theory and thus make them an integral part of themselves.
Scientists and theoreticians and men of the press should
write many excellent books and articles which give profound
explanations of the Juche thought and theory. They should
thus actively contribute to firmly equipping the leading
officials, the Party members and the working people with the
Juche idea.
In the sector of science and theory they should strengthen
the struggle against reactionary bourgeois ideas and all kinds
of opportunist ideological trends and staunchly defend the
purity of the Juche idea.
Workers in this sector should sharply expose the
reactionary nature and harmfulness of all hostile ideologies
which run counter to the Juche idea and strictly prevent even
the slightest non-class, non-revolutionary ideological
elements from infiltrating into our ranks. All our scientists
and theoreticians should uncompromisingly combat the
reactionary, counterrevolutionary ideological trends
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including bourgeois ideas, feudal-Confucian ideas,
revisionism, flunkeyism and dogmatism. They should thwart
the manoeuvres of all sorts of reactionaries and opportunists
and staunchly defend the Juche idea.
Our scientists and theoreticians should make the great
Juche idea their firm belief and should ensure that all
scientific and theoretical activities are geared to studying
and propagating, defending and materializing the Juche
thought and theory; they should also explain and disseminate
the greatness and validity of the Juche idea broadly and
profoundly.
Social scientists and theoreticians, the possessors and
propagators of progressive ideas, play a tremendous role in
the revolution and construction.
1 believe that our Party’s scientists and theoreticians will
keep in mind their mission and duty as the active advocates
and propagandists of the Juche idea and make an excellent
contribution to the struggle for the ultimate attainment of the
revolutionary cause of Juche.
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